Big time volleyball will grip Ponda and surrounding areas from May 18, as Home Minister, Ravi Naik, as President of one of the oldest clubs in the area - Jawahar Club of Ponda - is all set to launch an invitational volleyball tournament in memory of their ex-players Sharad Borkar, Mathias D’Costa and Cleto Caldeira figuring two prominent outstation teams, Marina Club of Chennai and Hyderabad XI besides the local ones.
It will be a revival of volleyball and Ravi Naik is all set to give volleyball fans some extraordinary fare. What’s more, it is being held in memory of three former volleyball stalwarts - ex-national volleyballer Sharad Borkar, former National player Mathias D’Costa and Cleto Caldeira - who in the days of past dominated the volleyball scene in Goa and were an integral part of the then famous Jawahar Club when Ravi, (National Player himself), was a player of great repute and an inspiration behind the Club. The threesome shone for Jawahar Club of Ponda with Sharad moving to Mala Sports Club to become a spiker of repute and earn the State Jivabadada Kerkar Award for outstanding sportspersons. Mathias, popularly known as Tiger, and Cleto played for Jawahar till their retirement.
The tourney is dedicated to Borkar, Mathias and Cleto. We need to pay homage to the threesome who played for Jawahar along with me and even represented the State at various National championships,” stated Ravi, who has been the president of the Club since 1965 and is sponsoring the event now.
Ravi must be praised for the wonderful effort as volleyball in Goa is waning. And coming, as it does, from a Club which kept the volleyball flag flying high in the years gone by, he deserves a big pat on the back.
Having been himself a National player and even sponsored State Volleyball teams for various Nationals in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, he is keen to infuse fresh ideas, get outstation players and teams of repute, allow Goan Clubs to rope in leading players from other States and ultimately revive the past glory of volleyball when the sport was almost on par with football, there being regular senior division, first division, women league, friendly inter-state events, unlike now when the association’s main aim is to securing international trips like Lusofonia Games in Macau and Lisbon, participating directly in Nationals even without even organizing full fledged championships, knowing well that the standard is absolutely awful.
The winners will get Rs. 30,000 and the runnders-up Rs. 25,000. Matches will be held at the Municipal Court, Ponda, under floodlights from 7:00 pm onwards.
The even has generated lots of enthusiasm in Ponda with those in the know of things even suggesting that Ravi should take over the affairs of the Volleyball Association so that the sport gets a new direction and momentum. - Sports Reporter DLP
0 comments:
Post a Comment