SYDNEYSIDER and former Nadi rep Hermant Krishan Naidu is keen to give back to football a sport which has given him joy not only representing the district but also clubs overseas.
The 58-year-old from Nakavu, has been stuck in the country because of the COVID-19 lockdown since last year. Naidu returned from Australia to do some renovation works on his premises and has been here since then.
An avid footballer Naidu’s best memory of his teenage days is helping Nadi stop Lautoka’s fourth year straight run for the Then India Valibar (TIV) Sangam North West title at Lawaqa Park in Sigatoka aged 17 years in 1980. Naidu moved to Bondi, Sydney in 1981 to further his studies and returned to Fiji in 1983.
He joined the Skylab Club which played in the third division of the Nadi local league competition.
Naidu’s talents were spotted by Navneeda Gounder.
“Navneeda was my cousin and he invited me to join Youngsters Club in the tier one competition,” Naidu said.
“I played about three matches at mid field and then got scouted for the Nadi making it into the 24 member squad.
“In a month I was in the top 16 getting a spot on the bench. But because of my short physique, I could not make it into the starting line-up.
“However Henry Dyer and Gounder had a chat with coach Mani Naicker and I got a chance to debut and it was against Labasa and we won 2-1. I set up the second goal for Rusiate Waqan. Naidu returned to Australia in 1985 to further his studies and immediately joined Ashbury which was a famous club of Fijian heritage in Sydney.
“We made our inaugural tour of New Zealand in 2002 and won the New Zealand Fiji Football Association veterans tournament.”
He was part of the inaugural Sydney TIV team which won the super premier title during the 1991 TIV Football Championship in Nadi.
The team included Upendran Choy, Edwin Narayan, Narend Naidu and Nitya Nand. After serving Sydney TIV for more than a decade, Naidu joined the Sydney TIV Masters which tournaments in Fiji and New Zealand.
Naidu said a regular senior age group league competition in the country will help maintain a healthy lifestyle for the oldies.
“I hope to get back to Australia once the lockdown is lifted and string together resources to help develop football with much focus on senior football in the country,” he said.
“I had a great career in football and will do voluntary work to give back to the sport.”
