Indian man leaves own wedding to play football

Dubai: An Indian man has become the centre of social media attention after he left his own wedding celebrations, to play in the local football league.

23-year-old Ridvan, who hails from the district of Malappuram in Kerala, plays as a centre-back for the ‘7s league’ team ‘FIFA Manjeri’. On Sunday, Ridvan’s wedding ceremony proceeded smoothly for most of the day, but his team simultaneously faced a crucial semi-finals match. The team in need of their defender, Ridvan had his priorities set. Leaving for the match ground, he told his bride “Excuse me for five minutes!” according to website talksports24x7.com.

His team won and his dedication impressed the Indian Sports Minister, who tweeted about it. But were the bride and her family impressed? Not so much.

The team made it to the finals, and Ridvan returned triumphant. But the infuriated bride reportedly asked him, “So if the game was at noon, would you cancel the marriage for the game?” according to talksports24x7.com.

On the positive side, Indian Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports, Rajyavardhan Rathore was impressed with his dedication and tweeted: “Ridvan asked five minutes from his bride on his wedding day to play football! What passion! I want to meet him! #5MinuteAur [#5 Minutes More] #KheloIndia [#Play India]”

According to website Sportskeeda.com, FIFA Manjeri faced Usha FC Thrissur (another league team), in the semi-final of the 7s tournament. The game was a chance at payback for FIFA Manjeri, who had lost to the same team in another tournament. The 7s league in Kerala is extremely popular, and gets its name from the fact that there are only seven players on a football team, unlike the traditional 11. The rules are modified accordingly, but the game is largely the same.

Many social media users appreciated Ridvan’s dedication.

Tweep @adithya0797 wrote: “It’s called passion, people!” and @kishorenair7 tweeted: “Way to go, son! “ߔ?

Others were not all that enthusiastic. Twitter used @Imtiazislam07 posted: “This man in Kerala actually left his wedding to play a game of football! Like seriously?”

Despite the cult following football enjoys in certain states of India, the second-most-populous country in the world still lags behind smaller countries in terms of major championship wins. The Indian national team for football enjoys greater visibility after public appeals by current team captain Sunil Chhetri, but it is yet to have participated in a FIFA World Cup.

Football is not the only sport suffering poor performance in India, which has only managed 28 medals in its complete Olympic History. This forms part of the context that prompted Rathore to start the #5MinuteAur campaign in 2019, which encourages more time to be dedicated to sports. It was inspired by children’s pleas to their parents of “Five minutes more” when their parents called them in from outdoor games.