Mia Bhuta is a midfielder with the USA team here for the under-17 women’s World Cup. Her father Vyom moved from India on a tennis scholarship when he was 16. So, when Bhuta said this World Cup was “something special,” it was more than just about playing on the highest stage offered to footballers of her age.
“Every girl who touches a ball dreams of playing the World Cup and that is why I am super excited to be here. It is also a great opportunity to know the culture (in India). Every Indian player and us can show that we can all dream big,” Bhuta said here on Monday with USA coach Natalia Astrain sat alongside on the dais.
Bhuta said as much to women footballers from an Odisha government programme to whom she and her teammates distributed “gifts”, along with India captain Astam Oraon, after the media interaction.
Not a bad take-off point for a tournament whose slogan is “kick off the dream.” One where India start against the USA here on Tuesday.
Vyom’s family is from Rajkot, said Bhuta. She had been to India “a few times” and was “grateful for her Indian heritage.” The Bhutas live in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; Vyom having stayed on after college, said the daughter.
“I understand the culture and I am so glad I could share this with my teammates. I think I have got dad’s ability for hard work that has helped me live this dream.” A dream that will take her to Stanford University in January where she hopes to pursue football and explore her interest in neuroscience and technology.
Like with many players in this tournament, Bhuta’s initiation in the sport happened at home playing with her father and the rest of the family. When the Bhutas realised their daughter was above average in the sport, they put her through the hoops. According to Pittsburg Soccer Now, whose article last March Bhuta has retweeted, it involved doing the next day’s schoolwork while being driven from her home to the over 50-year-old Internationals Soccer Club in Medina, Ohio, over two hours away. That was over a decade ago.
From there to Bhubaneswar was a journey that involved being trained by former player Keri Server, who was part of the USA national women players’ pool from 1992-2001, and developing, in her words, into a “box-to-box midfielder.”
“I like to look to create as many goal scoring opportunities as possible while being ready for any counter measures that might happen so I can get pressure back on the ball and delay the attack from the other team,” Bhuta told Pittsburg Soccer Now.
Will there be split loyalties in the family on Tuesday, Bhuta was asked. She smiled and said: “My family will always be supporting my team.”
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