Naidu: I Miss Mum, Salutes Dad
Missing someone and not being able to see them is the worst feeling ever.
Such has been the feeling of the Vodafone Lautoka football sensation Praneel Naidu every year, especially on the second Sunday for the month of May.
Naidu’s Blues, who are currently in New Zealand for the first leg of the OFC Champions League final against Team Wellington on Sunday, is one of the favourites to win the Vodafone Fiji FACT later this month.
Naidu said he was only seven years old when he last got a mother’s love.
“I lost my Mum back in 2002 when I was in Class Two,” an emotional Naidu said.
“Every year on mother’s day, I just wish my mum was here with me. I have always been deprived of a motherly love since then.
“I struggled a lot from my childhood days.
“But I salute my dad, Permal Naidu, who had been my pillar of strength and never made me feel the absence of my Mum.”
As everyone celebrates this Sunday, Naidu wished the aspiring ladies a Happy Mothers’ Day in advance as he departed for Wellington on Tuesday.
The 23-year-old said it had only been football that has kept him busy all throughout since his childhood.
Naidu started his football career with Ba at U10 level up to the senior district team. He has also played for Labasa in 2016 and currently dons the Blues jumper.
Many football pundits regard him as a lucky player as he has switched three different districts for the past three Inter-District Championship (IDC) tournaments and had won all. He played for Ba in 2015 when they defeated Nadi 2-0 at Govind Park, played for Labasa in 2016 when the Babasiga Lions defeated Ba 2-1 at the ANZ Stadium in Suva before joining Lautoka, who again defeated Ba 5-4 in penalty kicks last year. Lautoka is pooled with Suva,Tavua and Nadi in the Vodafone Fiji FACT and plays the opening game at 6pm on May 25 against Vodafone Premier League leader Suva at Ratu Cakobau Park, Nausori.
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