Guwahati, Sept. 1: The organisers of the Abhiruchi Sports Day, observed every year on the birthday of Arjuna Bhogeswar Baruah on September 3, have announced plans to set up an athletics academy in the Beltola area by the year-end.
During the customary briefing on the 19th Sports Day, sports magazine Abhiruchi’s founder and organising chairman, Bolen Mohan Chakraborty, said the academy’s objective would be to produce at least one athlete of Asian repute by the time the Abhiruchi Sports Day completed its silver jubilee run in 2008. This year the day will be observed throughout the state as well as in parts of Nagaland.
Chakraborty said, “The Abhiruchi Sports Day Organising Committee, a registered body, had invited Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi to lay the foundation of this multi-storied state-of-the-art academy on September 3, but since he will not be available, the programme was put off. We will use this period to fine-tune the academy’s programmes so that it produces the desired results. Everything remaining constant, Kalmadi will lay the foundation of the academy.
“Since the day is dedicated to Bhogeswar Baruah, we decided to set up an athletics academy, which will be run under Baruah’s guidance,” he said.
Though the details of the academy are being worked out, Chakraborty said it would start with at least 10 trainees. “We will take care of all their needs and it will be run by, among others, contributions from Abhiruchi members.” he said. The government has recently allotted Baruah a plot measuring 1.5 katha in Rupnagar area of the city for his sporting achievements.
As part of its September 3 programme, the organisers have invited the 70-year-old “marathon man of India”, wing commander (retd) Ashis Roy, as the chief guest. Roy has competed in 55 marathons, including 28 in foreign countries, after making his “debut at the young age of 52”. The organisers will also felicitate sportspersons and sports organisers who have represented India.
The 16 sportspersons to be felicitated are Bahniman Bora, Oly Deka, Krishna Dekaraja, Bibari Basumatary, Rajib Goswami (badminton), Khanin Saikia, Rana Sharma (cricket), Birjab Mushahary (football), Pallabi Parashar (table tennis), Abhijit Bhattacharyya (volleyball), Golap Bora, Ratul Ansari (hockey), Anshuman Dutta (tennis), Lakshmi Devi, Ranjit Singh (fencing) and Biswajit Kalita (handball).
Assam Hockey Association secretary Tapan Das (Nagaon) and veteran football coach Abdul Latif (Guwahati) have been selected for the Shashi Sarma memorial sports organiser and best Kanoi Bezbaruah memorial coach awards respectively. The Dilip Choudhury memorial promising cricketer award has gone to Sekharjyoti Barman of NF Railway.
The seven best organisers are Amulya Kalita (Rangiya), Tapan Dutta (Jorhat), Girish Nath (Guwahati), Girish Sarma (Nalbari), Biswanath Ghosal (Guwahati), Surya Talukdar (Sonapur) and P. M. Buzarbaruah.
