Siliguri, Dec. 25: A seven-foot statue of late Chandan Singh Rawat, a former Indian footballer who had represented the country in Asian Games and the Olympics, will be set up on the Sukna Games and Sports Association premises in April.

Suren Pradhan, the secretary of the association, also announced that the fifth Sukna Gold Cup Challenge Football Tournament would be kicked off at Sukna play grounds, 9km from here, on Sunday. Twenty-eight teams, including the ones from Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal, would participate in the meet. The total budget for the tournament is Rs 15 lakh and the winner and runners-up team will get Rs 60,000 and Rs 40,000 as prize money, he said

On setting up of the statue, Pradhan said: “This will be our homage to the former soccer star of the country, who was one of the finest footballers in 1950s.”

Rawat was a member of the Indian soccer team that had bagged gold at the first Asian Games in New Delhi in 1951. He also represented the national squad in Helsinki Olympics next year. In the domestic circuit, the late footballer had played for East Bengal, Mohun Bagan Athletic Club and Bengal. “The fibre-made statue will be installed on the club campus in April. After legendary footballer Gostho Pal’s statue in Siliguri, Rawat’s will be the second in the region,” Pradhan claimed.

The association secretary said Jerry Basi, a former national footballer, would inaugurate the tournament. Basi was a member of the national team that got bronze in sixth Asian Games in Bangkok in 1970. Currently, he is the general secretary of the Sikkim Olympic Association.

Bhaichung Bhutia, the captain of the national soccer team, and former footballer Shyam Thapa will be present during the tournament, the finals of which will be on January 24. “Our main objective for organising the tournament here is to promote the talents of the region and provide them with a platform to prove their skills,” Pradhan said. The association is planning to set up a football academy at Sukna with the help of Shyam Thapa.