Our Correspondent
MANGALDAI, May 22: With a noble intention to find out the unexplored potential young footballers of Mangaldai and its surrounding areas and to shape and mould them in proper shape, Mangaldai Sports Association (MSA)- a premier sports body of the state for the first time in its long history has come forward to run a full time football academy under the supervision of national level coaches from NIS. Director of Sports and Youth Welfare of Assam Pabitra Ram Khaund on Sunday afternoon ceremonially inaugurated the academy along with a ten day long free summer coaching camp at Mangaldai stadium in presence of several prominent persons, veteran sports organizers and footballers including Mangaldai legislator Gurujyoti Das, Secretary of Mangaldai Sports Association Anupam Deka, veteran sports organizer Biren Medhi, Dr Amarendra Narayan Deb and others.
Football Secretary of the premier sports body Bipul Kr Sarma while talking to ‘The Sentinel’ expressed delight over the tremendous response from the promising local young footballers in between the age group from six to sixteen years to enroll their names in the academy which has started functioning parallel to the summer coaching camp with NIS coach Utpal Das as the chief trainer. ‘We are all set to run the academy on a regular basis under the technical help and guidance from the Directorate of Sports, Assam Government. They have assured us to provide NIS coaches like Ganesh Rai, Jewel Bey, Debashis Roy from time to time to guide our local regular coaches comprising Physical Instructors (PT) of the Sports Department and former prominent footballers. We are very delighted to find the keen interest of the younger generation for football as today on the next day of the inauguration more than two hundred trainees have enrolled their names” he added.
On the same day the sports body in its stadium premises has also launched a new Table Tennis Academy as well as a training camp under the technical supervision of (NIS) coach Ashutosh Chodhury at Mangaldai stadium. Here also a total of twenty young TT players have enrolled their names. This academy also is expected to explore the young TT players of the region where there was reportedly no arrangement of TT training after 1995.