By 5 a.m. he and his teammates were heading to Hutt Indoor Arena for their last day of competition鈥攖hat is, the last day of the Indoor Cricket World Cup.
Yes, Kanchan was living the dream.
Like many sports-related dreams, Kanchan鈥檚 started in childhood. The University of Michigan-Dearborn mechanical engineering graduate student began playing cricket as a toddler. He excelled and, after being introduced to indoor cricket by a friend, tried out for and placed on the state indoor team.
When he learned that India was putting together a national team to compete in the 2014 Indoor Cricket World Cup, he found himself at a crossroads. Kanchan just had arrived in the U.S. to pursue a graduate degree in engineering and didn鈥檛 think he would be able to go back to India to train and compete.
But, he said, his dream lived on thanks to help from 萝莉社-Dearborn鈥檚 Office of International Affairs.
鈥淚 had to take a break from my classes. I was gone for eight months, but the university and the international office helped me take care of all the details,鈥 Kanchan said. 鈥淢y professors, friends and the international office staff鈥攊f it wasn鈥檛 for them, I wouldn鈥檛 have been able to experience this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.鈥
Kanchan made the Indian national team and traveled to New Zealand last fall to compete in the World Cup. The Indian team was young and had no experience on the international level. They were competing against traditional powerhouses like Australia鈥攖he reigning World Cup champ鈥攁nd New Zealand.
No one expected much from the team. They didn鈥檛 medal. But with wins over England, Singapore and Sri Lanka, they won over the cricket crowd and finished in fifth place. Kanchan also won Man of the Match in their game against New Zealand.
鈥淲e actually got a standing ovation,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t was really eye-opening for me, being able to see how much we can achieve when we push ourselves. I realized I could achieve so much more than I thought possible.鈥
Armed with a newfound confidence, Kanchan returned to 萝莉社-Dearborn to complete his master鈥檚 degree. And while he plans to pursue a career in mechanical engineering following graduation this winter, he鈥檚 not quite ready to give up his cricket dreams yet鈥攁fter all, the 2017 World Cup is less than two years away.
鈥淚 think cricket will be my priority when I get back,鈥 Kanchan said. 鈥淣othing compares to the feeling of representing your country and standing with your teammates while the national anthem is playing and your country鈥檚 flag is being raised. It鈥檚 priceless.鈥
