Bordoloi Trophy

Guwahati, June 16: The Guwahati Sports Association (GSA) has delayed finalisation of dates for its showpiece event ? the Bordoloi Trophy ? following the uncertainty over availability of Nehru Stadium.

This uncertainty stems from the fact that the National Games will be held soon in the capital city and the stadium will be renovated for the occasion.

GSA football secretary Hem Das said the working committee that met yesterday did not decide on the dates for the coveted trophy, citing the uncertainty over the field.

?The emerging view was that the dates should not be finalised unless and until it becomes clear as to when the Games will be held. If we go by the AOA?s stand, the Games will start on November 12. In such a scenario, the field can be taken up for development anytime. The Bordoloi Trophy, being a prestigious meet, cannot be held anywhere else. Everything has to be planned in advance. Therefore, it was decided that a wait-and-watch approach was the best strategy under the circumstances,? he added.

However, Robin Bordoloi ? sports adviser to the chief minister and son of Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi, in whose name the meet is held ? yesterday said at the inauguration of the central coaching camp that the meet could be put off by a month or two.

Similar views were expressed by AOA secretary Mukut Medhi and going by the pace of development of infrastructure, the Games will be put off by at least till January.

However, the GSA working committee decided to go ahead with the N.N. Bhattacharyya Trophy from Sunday as the uncertainty over the Nehru Stadium in the short run seems to have been resolved. The tournament, according to Das, will conclude on June 26.

So far, eight teams have confirmed participation and the fixture will be announced by tomorrow.

Das also said the C division qualifiers would be squeezed in during the same period. ?As the ground will not be available, we will have to squeeze in the qualifiers which were supposed to start from today. There are six teams in the fray,? he added. The GSA has also fixed the date of a division league from September 19.