Hi, I am Rudresh Gaudnour from Pune. I am 12-years-old and play football with my team Kothrud Wolves, as part of the Just For Kicks program at my school, Pandit Dindayal. I am representing India as a Young Journalist in Moscow at the FIFA Gazprom Football For Friendship social program organized for over 211 countries.As part of this program, I attended the FIFA World Cup opening ceremony and watched the first game between Russia and Saudi Arabia. I have been in Moscow for 7 days but have not been as excited as I was today! Entering the Luzhniki stadium itself was great and watching Robbie Williams perform, Russian artists cover the ground with their bright outfits and props and finally, the kick-off of the game was all a dream come true.What followed were the most amazing 90 minutes packed with exciting football that was better than any game I have played or watched on TV. Both the teams were good but Russia really outdid Saudi Arabia beating them 5-0! The fifth goal was even scored in the last minute of extra time! The stadium was full of football-crazed fans and every goal scored and every missed opportunity made everyone jump out of their seats. I have never been part of a Mexican wave of such magnitude before and doing it alongside 78,000 people, was brilliant!I was supporting Russia throughout the game but the one thing that the Saudi Arabia team taught me was to not give up. They kept giving the game a 100% until the last whistle was blown. This was one of the most special days of my life and I don’t think I will ever forget it.If not in person, I hope to watch India qualify and play at the next world cup in 2022 and when I will be old enough, I can’t wait to play for my country. I truly believe that sport can change the world and that football is one sport that can drive this change. But I think this is only possible with the love and support of fellow countrymen, as I witnessed today and hopefully someday we will see such united support in India as well.
Original Article
