Indian Railways picks Rurka Kalan footballer
Sanamdeep, a 22-year-old alumnus of the Youth Football Club (YFC), Rurka Kalan, has been selected for the Indian Railways Football Team and has secured a permanent job with the organisation.
He will now represent the South East Central Railways team based in Nagpur. Selected at the national trials held in Nagpur, the footballer—trained on the fields of Rurka Kalan—was called soon after to join the Indian Railways team in Nagpur. He is currently attending a training camp in Nagpur for the same.
His father, Kulwant Singh, is the head coach at the Youth Football Club in Rurka Kalan. Reflecting on the achievement, he said, “I feel happy and proud. As a six-year-old, Sanamdeep used to accompany me to the field every day. He was curious and picked up the game early. At YFC, we coach footballers and kabaddi teams and the club also has its share of wrestlers. But we are especially passionate about football. That passion rubbed off on him.”
A Centre Midfielder, Sanamdeep steadily rose through the ranks, thanks to his consistent performances at the junior, senior, university, state and national levels. His performances drew the attention of his coaches and mentors, who were confident about the promise he held for the future.
Speaking about his sporting journey, Kulwant Singh added that his son has been playing football for the past six to seven years. He started with DAV and then went on to play for various clubs. He also joined an international club in Phagwara. According to his father, what defined his journey was his unrelenting focus on growth—he never looked back, always keeping his eyes trained on future goals. Each step brought new achievements, consistently adding to his sporting graph.
Over the years, Sanamdeep has played for YFC Rurka Kalan from 2014 to 2015, Youngsters Football Club Chandigarh from 2015 to 2019, Principal Harbhajan Football Academy Mahilpur from 2019 to 2020, JCT Football Academy Phagwara from 2020 to 2024, and the International Football Club Phagwara in 2024. His list of representations is equally long and impressive. He has represented teams in the National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy for both Punjab and Chandigarh, and the 37th National Games held in Goa in 2023 as part of the Punjab team. He also played at the All India Inter-University level representing Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, and participated in the Khelo India University Games, again representing GNDU Amritsar in 2023–2024. He was part of the Punjab team at the Hero National Beach Championship and played in the Khelo India Youth Games under the U-21 category for Chandigarh. He has also represented various under-21, under-19, and under-17 teams at the 62nd, 63rd, and 64th National Games, in addition to appearances in the I-League and the Himachal League.
On his recent selection, Kulwant Singh shared that Sanamdeep was selected in the national football trials held at Nagpur to play for the Western Railways. Three players were selected from across Punjab, including one from Amritsar and another from Beas Pind. Now, he will play solely for the Railways team based in Maharashtra and will be posted at Nagpur with his team.
The father, who stays in touch with his son daily, said, “He is happy—as always, focused only on the game.”
Gurmangal Das, Founder of YFC, praised the young player’s journey, saying, “Sanamdeep defeated all odds with his hard work, determination and resilience, proving that dreams do come true with persistence and passion. We couldn’t be more proud of the journey he’s taken from grassroots football to national recognition. Very few of those who pursue football early on make it to this level. But Sanamdeep has done it with his grit and passion.”
Jalandhar