It was a fitting tribute to one of the finest footballers from the city who donned the national colours when the District Sports Authority of Hyderabad organised the Peter Thangaraj Memorial Football Tournament at Gymkhana Grounds.
In a way, it also demonstrated the efficacy of having a District Sports Development Officer in Aleem Khan who himself was a former national player. “We thought it the best way to give the young talent a platform to showcase their skills,” insists Aleem who is largely responsible in football activity revived in a big way at the venue which was one of the major centres for the then famous Rahim League championship.
Those were the days when stalwarts of yesteryears including Noor Mohammad, Yusuf Khan, Azizuddin used to make it a point to watch football action.
But with the APFA still in a limbo thanks to the legal disputes it got entangled, it was left to the individuals like Aleem Khan and Tony of Shastri Soccer Club to keep the sport alive.
With another seasoned campaigner and enthusiastic E. Shyam of State Bank of Hyderabad always making it a point to be involved in the organizational aspects, the event was again another success story, despite the ugly behavior in the final phase of the tournament which saw the tournament committee ban two teams from further participation.
But, it was more because of the alleged players’ unruly attitude than a reflection on the organizational skills.
For the record, Johnson Football Club emerged champions with a 3-1 win via penalty shoot-out over Hyderabad Sporting in the final and also won Rs. 10,000 as cash incentive.
The teams locked goalless at the end of regulation time, primarily because of Johnson custodian Rahul’s impressive display.
In the shoot-out, Louise, Teja and Srikanth were on target for the winners while only Zubair scored for the loser.
Special prizes
Special prizes were given to Rahul of Johnson FC (best goalkeeper) by Olympian Zulfiquaruddin, Sumeer of Red Hills (best defender) by Olympian S. S. Hameed, Anju of Johnson FC (best midfielder) by Arjuna Awardee Md Habib, Talha of Hyderabad Sporting (best striker) by former Asian Games gold medallist Mohd Afzal.
In a welcome gesture, Mr. M. K.Bhattacharya,, DGM, SBH (Secunderabad Zone), felicitated former internationals Bhir Bahadur, Victor Amalraj and M.A. Sayeed at the valedictory function.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> DownTown / by V. V.S / May 24th, 2012