New Delhi, Aug 18 While India have shown their talent on the pitch, a number of them have often shown their mettle in matters other than the 'beautiful game.
The latest India footballer to profess his talent off the pitch is goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. While the custodian is well known in the dressing room for his quick-witted one-liners, Gurpreet, during a Live chat on AIFF TV, revealed that he is planning an exhibition for his sketches which he made during his free time.
"I am trying to do something with all the sketches that I've drawn," Gurpreet, the first Indian player to feature in a Europa Cup match revealed. "There are plans to organise a platform where people can come and buy the sketches. "I plan to hold an exhibition of sorts where people can buy my sketches with whatever amount they can pay. The money will all go to charity. Let's try to help other people who are in need of it," he said.
Gurpreet's admission comes close on the heels of 'Ironman' Sandesh Jhingan's plans wherein he had divulged his intent of publishing his first book in an earlier interview on the-aiff.com.
The lanky custodian expressed that he inculcated the habit of sketching since he was a kid. "When I was a kid, my mom used to buy me different pencil boxes with different cartoon characters on them. I was never really much into studies, so I just used to sketch those cartoons," laughed Gurpreet.
However, as he began to progress with his footballing career as a teenager, the young Gurpreet lost his interest in the art somewhere down the line.
"In between, I began to focus on my game a lot more, and somewhere in the way, the artist within me lost against the goalkeeper," he said. But he has been trying to work on his childhood hobby again, as and when he gets free time.
"After I came back from Europe, I tried to find my love again. Sketching really helped me focus. When I'm sketching it is the one time that I really have with myself. My 'me-time', if you can call it that," quipped Gurpreet. "It's not that I'm great at it, but I try to do my sketches at whatever small level I can, during my free time."
( With inputs from IANS )