Poser on sports body's future

Bhaichung during the inauguration of the sports board in Siliguri. File picture

BIRESWAR BANERJEE, TT, Feb 276, 2018: Ace footballer Bhaichung Bhutia's decision to severe ties with Trinamul has cast a shadow on the functioning of the North Bengal Board for Development of Sports & Games.

Bhutia was the chairman of the board that was formed by chief minister Mamata Banerjee on June 2016.

The other members of the board and members of the sports fraternity aren't, however, surprised by the decision, and say that the ace footballer was not at all sincere to promote promising players from different sports in north Bengal and in taking the task to improve facilities for sports in the region.

"The board could have been one of the finest organisations to nurture the budding sports talents of the region, as this is for the first time that the state decided to build a platform for promising players from different field of sports of north Bengal. But unfortunately, I have hardly got any call from its chairman to attend a meeting or to visit any district to spot sports talents. So far my knowledge, the sports body was formed about two years back and since its formation, only two meetings took place," Mantu Ghosh, the vice-chairman of the board, who is also the joint secretary of Table Tennis Federation of India, said.

Ghosh did not want to comment about Bhutia's seriousness about running the sports body, but said if the state is sincere to continue such initiatives, organisations like the board should be headed by a person who hails from the region and has dedication to work for local talents.

"The state should appoint a sports personality who is familiar with locals and will be sincere to improve the skills of promising players of these areas, after picking them from different corners of all the eight districts," Ghosh, the first Arjuna awardee in table tennis from the region, said.

Some others at the sports body also alleged that whenever they wanted to contact Bhutia or wanted to send any suggestion to him, they have faced ignorance.