Catch this film on India’s blind football players

Amrit Vatsa, a Goa-based filmmaker and wedding photographer, has made a film on India’s blind footballers. Called The Blind Footballers of India, the film is on the finals of the Indian Blind Football Federation tournament held in April, where the Dehradun team emerged champions.

10 teams from across India, including Mumbai, participated with over 100 players, mostly between 16 and 20 years. The film focuses on two people – Dehradun team’s captain Pankaj Rana and Kerala’s Aneesh M K. The eight-minute documentary has been uploaded on the portal 3minutestories.com.

The film also looks into the current status of blind football through an interview with IBFF’s sporting director Sunil Mathew. Until four years ago, India did not even have a national-level blind football team and Mathew has been credited with putting it together.

The team has travelled for three international matches so far. Next month Mathew will open India’s first sporting academy for the disabled in Kochi.