ISL footballer Biswajit Saha's fast food joint close to shutting

Biswajit Saha

He was a part of history when ATK (then Atletico de Kolkata) clinched the inaugural Indian Super League (ISL) title in 2014. But six years down the line, footballer Biswajit Saha is struggling to make ends meet with his fast food joint close to shutting shop in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Without a club since 2018 when a severe hamstring injury ruled him out of Mumbai City FC's ISL campaign, left-back Saha has been plotting a return to the sport.

But since it was taking time, the defender, 34, had opened a fast food joint with his brother near his home in Bandel in Hooghly district of West Bengal. "I did not play professional football after 2018. I was in Valencia [Spain] with the Mumbai City FC team for pre-season training, where I got injured. "We were supposed to return to Mumbai the next day, but I got injured the day before," said Saha.

"There was a Super Cup that year. I played one match. The year 2018 was wasted, and after that I took time to recover. It was then that my brother and I decided to open this fast food centre to run the family," said Saha, who is married with two daughters.

Saha, although nearing the twilight of his career, is practising now and feels he is in good shape. But with the lockdown, his desire to make a comeback seems a distant dream. "The lockdown has spoiled everything. The shop is not doing great. There are very few customers due to the health crisis. "As far as making a comeback is concerned, I was working hard but I am not getting any younger. This [period of no football activity] will dent my chances further," said Saha.

"I had rented out the fast food shop last year. The rent is all we have [to run the family]. My daughters are six and three years old. I also have plans to take up coaching, but at the moment, it is too far from reality. Now, we are struggling to make ends meet," he concluded.

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