PANAJI:
Savio Medeira retired in 2000, took to coaching, managed Salgaocar SC and even the Indian team and has now risen to become the technical director of the All India
Football Federation (AIFF). The current generation will have faint memories of the former international's excellent playing career; one where he bossed the midfield and famously laid the pass for Bruno Coutinho to strike down East Bengal 20 years ago in that unforgettable Federation Cup final at the massive Salt Lake stadium in Kolkata.
Alvito D'Cunha's left foot was the most talked about asset in Indian football and led to a stunning offer from East Bengal at the turn of the century. He has been with the Kolkata giants since then with his playing days now a thing of the past. Ditto with boxer Praveen Shirodkar, whose achievement of winning a rare international silver medal seems a distant memory given he is now producing international medallists as an established coach.
Their playing careers, though, will be replayed once again later this month as the state government honours them, and many others, with the
Bakshi Bahaddar Jivbadada Kerkar Awards, the highest recognition for sports in Goa.
Most would have forgotten they had even applied for the awards as the state government is set to hand over the awards after a gap of 15 years. For example, Savio Medeira and
Mahesh Gawli, another outstanding footballer, have been handpicked for the 2002-03 awards.
An announcement is expected in the next 48 hours while chief minister Manohar Parrikar will personally hand over the awards at Dona Paula on January 25.
When the formal announcement is made by the Directorate of Sports and Youth Affairs (DSYA), footballers are expected to dominate the list.
At last count five footballers, including two women -
Uvena Fernandes (now a Fifa referee) and Maymol Rocky (now India women's coach) - had made it to the list while five baseball players and four boxers have also found favour. Among the boxers in the list is Late Premanand Gaonkar, an international medallist who died quite early.
The state government has also cleared awards for organisers which were not handed over when awards were last announced in 2002. Football, again, dominates the list as the efforts of former Goa Football Association secretary
Savio Messias and former GFA joint secretary Anil Kamat - now director (competitions) for the AIFF - are being recognised.
Heavyweights like Anil Madgavkar (swimming), Vero Nunes (table tennis), Lenny D'Gama (boxing), Raju Mangueshkar (taekwondo), Ashesh Keni (chess) and Gokuldas Shirodkar (kho kho) feature in the list of organizers selected for the Kerkar Awards. The awards carry a cash purse of Rs 25,000, incidentally hiked by Parrikar himself during his first stint as chief minister in 2002, a certificate of honour and plaque.
AWARDEES
Organisers: Anil Madgavkar (swimming, 1998-99), Anil Kamat (football, 1999-2000), Vero Nunes (table tennis, 2004-05), Savio Messias (football, 2005-06), Leonardo (Lenny) D'Gama (boxing, 2006-07), Raju Mangueshkar (taekwondo, 2011-12), Ashesh Keni (chess, 2012-13), Gokuldas Shirodkar (kho kho, 2013-14).
Players: Savio Medeira (football, 2002-03), Sheela Naik (athletics, 02-03), Pankaj Naik (badminton, 03-04), Pallavi Naik (yachting, 03-04), Alvito D'Cunha (football, 04-05), Vidhya Satarkar (baseball, 03-04), Sameer Naik (football, 05-06), Maymol Rocky (football, 03-04), Kailash Gaonkar (baseball, 06-07), Precila Dias (taekwondo, 02-03), Siddesh Naik (baseball, 07-08), Uvena Fernandes (football, 03-04), Mahesh Gawli (football, 02-03), Geeta Borkar (baseball, 02-03), Premanand Gaonkar (boxing, 02-03), Adelia Maria Fernandes (taekwondo, 03-04), Praveen Shirodkar (boxing, 02-03), Vidya Bandekar (boxing, 03-04), Santosh Harijan (boxing, 11-12), Harmalkar Dayanand Surya (bodybuilding, 02-03), Deeplaxmi Avati (baseball, 2013-14).
Representative Image
