It was his first derby on Friday and he struck twice. He is Kush Chettri. It might be Reliance Under-21 Youth Football League but East Bengal officials must have noted his name as his brace helped the red-and-gold brigade win a derby after three years including the senior and junior level. The win is also steering the red-and-gold brigade to the final phase of the Youth Football League, starting in Mumbai the next week. 

Naturally, the 19-year-old striker from Manipur who has scored three goals in the League qualifiers, has been flooded by congratulatory messages and phone calls since Friday night. Still, Kush when contacted over the phone on Saturday did not seem flying in the sky. Rather he sounded realistic and said, "There is no doubt that I am extremely happy scoring goals in a derby. But I must have to maintain consistency in the final round. Otherwise, all effort will go in vain." 

Simultaneously, Kush did not forget to mention, "I must say about my teammates who also showed consistency throughout which helped the strikers like me to score. Especially, I should say about our custodian Aditya Patra whose brilliant show inspired us a lot, especially in the first derby and also in other matches. He has been a 'Great Wall'. In the final phase also, Aditya will be a big boost for us and he deserves special credit."

Kush used to play the game for his district team when he was 11 years old. His father who works in Assam Rifles, used to push him up, encouraging him to settle career as a footballer in the future. Kush revealed, "I obtained an opportunity to appear for trials at Gokulam FC under-15 and after impressing the coach there I joined another club. The turning point came when Bino George sir asked me to appear for selection trials at East Bengal before the start of the Youth League. I am thankful to Bino sir. He has helped me a lot motivating me to see dreams of donning senior India shirts and playing in the ISL one day." 

Kush who along with his teammates has already signed a three-year contract for East Bengal loves to listen to Bhajans on Krishna and Hanuman-ji. He said, "I try to increase concentration and become stress-free mentally by listening to Bhajans before any match. I did it before the derby also. It helps me a lot to be the calm and set focus."