A real football aficionado lived his dream in spirit as his doting parents made it come true. Siddhanth Siddhanth Beri, a boy in his early 20s had always dreamt of seeing a football game live and was looking for forward to being a part of football's greatest spectacle. On his 21st birthday, the 21-year-old got a trip to Qatar as gift from his parents. An industrious and ambitious youngster, who was pursuing BBA LLB (Hons) at the Jindal Global Law School, while playing football fell to the ground and succumbed to cardiac arrest.
Siddhanth's family, friends, and anyone close to him were devastated by the news. It was even tougher for his parents but they were determined to make Siddhanth’s wish come true. In a heartwarming gesture, they did so by attending all the games that he was scheduled to watch in Qatar with his parents.
At every game, the parents carried two banners. While one said “We love you Siddhant Beri. You are with us today”, the other one noted “U, Us and United”.
“We came to Qatar to fulfill Siddhanth’s wish,” Mumbai-based Rahat Beri accompanied by her husband Nitin told TOI. "Our son is a lover of sports, hugely passionate, who followed squash, football and chess. He loved football more than anything else."
Siddhant who was also a fan of Manchester United admired the world's two of the most famous footballers at the moment. While the world remains divided over Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, the youngster was a fan of both. He idolised Ronaldo for his discipline and Messi for his talent.
His admiration for Marcus Rashford and Juan Mata was also known by many who knew him for their off-the-field charitable works.
“Siddhanth watched a few games in Russia (at the World Cup) but never clicked pictures. It was about enjoying the moment, the beauty of football. We did the same in Doha. I was screaming, shouting, cheering, just reliving all the memories. I celebrated him. It was a fabulous feeling,” said Rahat.
Nitin, part of the sports industry for over two decades now, also joined in the celebrations.
“Siddhanth’s conversations with me were all about sports. The holidays also revolved around the EPL (English Premier League) watching football all the time,” said Nitin.
Each match they watched, it involved heavyweights like Argentina, Portugal, England, and France, the parents reveled in the spectacle put up by each footballer and listened to the noise and the thunderous applause.
“Their legacy, like yours, shall remain - untouched, unrivaled and undiminished,” Nitin wrote in one of his posts on social media.
