He may have had to stop playing active cricket because of a leg injury but it obviously could not stop Chanchal Dutta Gupta from still being passionately involved in the game, in every aspect, from coaching to selecting teams.

This, besides his other interests, like theatre and stage compering, and a full time job as a senior administrative officer in sales and marketing, with Mecon Limited.

Chanchal, a former Ranji trophy player, who represented Bihar in 1976-77, has also been a Ranji trophy selector for two consecutive years. Having also represented Bihar since 1974 in various tournaments, he is indeed a boon to the school kids who train under him. His passion for the game and his years of experience makes him a perfect coach for those aspiring a serious future in the game.

While his wife Jayasree, a housewife, son Abhik, an engineering student in Cochin and daughter Oindrilla, Class X student, are not exactly active in sports, it is their full support that has given him the inspiration and inner zeal to perform so well. And considering his strong background in sports, it couldn?t have been any other way, either. It?s in his blood and destined, if one may say.

Chanchal?s father was a cricketer, while his sister Papia Duttagupta is a renowned table tennis (TT) player, with a consecutive 12-year record for holding the state title. His brother too is also a national level TT umpire. Obviously, a sports oriented family like this rallied around him with full support when his injury forced him out of active cricket. For this support, right from his initial days into the sport till now, he considers himself extremely fortunate.

?My parents? role were unusually encouraging in my sporting activities. They watched each and every match that I played, no matter how busy they were. I still remember even my friends enjoying and getting encouragement from the gesture of theirs,? he says, with pride.

Not just parents, he is also thankful to the support he got from his then-to-be wife.

?Even before my marriage, she used to reach the stadium in Jamshedpur without fail,? he says. He is still touched by her supportive gesture, especially when she was expecting their first child. He had to be in Jamshedpur to attend a cricket tournament. ?I could not provide the support that was required by her and she managed all those painful days without either my parents, relatives and especially me and still never complained,? he said.

Jayasree too is all praise for the kind of support and understanding she got from Chanchal inspite of his busy schedule. His son Abhik however does feel surprised that despite being a successful sports personality his father never really encouraged him to take up sports seriously. Chanchal does have an explanation to that.

?I agree that I never encouraged him to take sports as a career option because from my own experience I know that in this part of the country, sports cannot be taken as a career, unless someone is exceptionally talented,? he says. ?But, I never stopped him from playing any sporting activity, because I knew since it was in his blood, so stopping him would not make any sense,? he added.

?My father is my idol and is the best father on earth because of his support and the good things that he has taught me. Although I don't like his habit of smoking, still it?s like him,? says proud son, Abhik.

By passing the engineering entrance exam, Abhik has already made the family proud. ?The day the results came out, we were not only happy, but relaxed, too. We knew now he could fulfil his dreams,? Jayasree said, sounding every bit the happy and proud mother. While father Chanchal is happy his son too has picked up his interests, like theatre and compering, which he picked to fill the void created after leaving active sports. Good father and son teamwork, indeed.

Abhijeet Mukherjee