[1]Yogeshwar Dutt greets the players at the Subroto Cup opening ceremony at the Ambedkar Stadium in the capital.
The 53rd Subroto Cup football schools tournament kicked off on Monday with a grand opening ceremony attended by Air Marshal J.N. Burma and London Olympics bronze medallist wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt.
Speaking to the gathered teams, Dutt emphasised the need for right training at young age for proper development of the sport. “It is very heartening to see these children get exposure at a very young age. I started wrestling at the age of eight and at that point there were no facilities and guidance,” said the Khel Ratna awardee.
“If with proper guidance and efforts we can bring in medals from Olympics, it is absolutely possible for footballers to realise their dreams too. And seeing the way sponsors are supporting the efforts of the IAF, I am very confident that we can make it big in football too,” said Dutt.
Over 80 teams from across the country and abroad are participating in the month long tournament which will see competition in three categories — boys U-14, boys U-17 and girls-U-17. A total of `1.5 crore have been raised from the sponsors and the total cash prize purse has gone up to `28,30,000 this year.
In the tournament opener, Greenwood School of Dimapur, Nagaland, routed Bhonsala Military School, Nashik 8-0.
Links:
[1] http://archive.asianage.com/yogeshwar-dutt-greets-players-subroto-cup-opening-ceremony-ambedkar-stadium-capital-076