the goan I network
MARGAO
Several of Goa’s Santosh Trophy heroes were in attendance as the winning teams of 1983 and 1984 were felicitated by the Association for the Wellbeing of Elder Sportspersons (AWES) at BPS Sports Club, Margao, on Sunday.
The two champion teams consisted of 35 players, four of whom – Caetan Fernandes, Herbert San, Vasudev Chodankar and Baptist Fernandes – have passed away. Three of the four players were represented by their families, while a total of 30 players were either present in person, or sent their representative, for the felicitation function. Goa striker Sarto Baptista made it a point to make his presence felt after taking an overnight flight from Kuwait.
“Heroes don’t fade away. Heroes live amongst us forever. To see so many heroes together is a wonderful feeling,” AWES president Avertano Furtado said in his welcome address. Each of the players were called on stage and felicitated at the hands of the AWES president, vice president Vinod Parkkot, treasurer Armando Colaco and general secretary Jonathan de Sousa.
Players who were part of both the winning teams, received the loudest applause. Stars like Brahmanand Shankhwalkar, Camilo Gonsalves, Mauricio Afonso, Jaime Barreto, Dionisio Trindade, Arnold Rodrigues, Jose Fernandes and Mahesh Lotlikar won the two titles
in a row. Arjuna awardee Shankhwalkar, captain of both the winning 1983 and 1984 squads, said the players were thrilled to be together again. “These are memories that will last a lifetime,” said Brahmanand in his vote of thanks.
Meanwhile, veteran journalist Cyril D’Cunha was honoured for his lifetime contribution to sports journalism. Founder president of the Sports Journalists’ Association of Goa (SJAG), Cyril is a journalist of repute who has written extensively for many Goan, Indian and foreign newspapers and journals for over five decades. His book ‘Soccer and Goa’ was among the first to be published by the government of Goa.
Special mementoes were presented to Dr Damodar Bhonsule and Juliao Rodrigues, the senior-most in the gathering. The celebratory cake was cut in the presence of elder sportspersons from 10 different disciplines.
The felicitation function was part of the annual get-together organised by AWES. The get-together saw former sportspersons, officials, administrators and media assemble to relive the
glorious days.
