3 city footballers to play prestigious Durand Cup

 

 
By Paritosh Pramanik
NAGPUR, July 17, 2024

NAGPUR footballers’ talent is being recognised in the country.
If Asheer Akhtar has been retained by NorthEast United for another year and will be playing the Durand Cup, two other footballers from the Orange City, in all probability, will be seen playing India’s oldest and prestigious football tournament, this season.
Apart from Asheer, who will be donning NorthEast United jersey, Vasu Kanojiya and Rashid Ansari, will be representing Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) football team in this edition’s Durand Cup starting July 27.
“The CISF team has been invited for Asia’s oldest tournament this season. We have been pitted against Kerala Blasters FC, Mumbai City FC and Punjab FC in Group C and will be playing our league matches in Kolkata,” said Vasu Kanojiya from Delhi.
Asheer’s NorthEast United are placed in Group E and will play their matches against Odisha FC, Bodoland FC and BSF at Kokrajhar.
“Last year, we lost the semis but this season we are determined to move a step further,” Asheer confidently told ‘The Hitavada’ from Guwahati where the team is preparing for the 133rd edition of the tournament.
Vasu Kanojiya is a former Rahul Sankrutyayan Club’s midfielder and has joined CISF in 2022. Twice he has represented Maharashtra in the Santosh Trophy National Championship.
“We are ready to take part in the most prestigious tournament of Asia,” said head constable Vasu, who has also led Nagpur University football team in the past.
Rashid, an assistant sub-inspector in CISF, is a senior player and has joined CISF way back in 2015. He played for Nagpur Football Club (NFC) in the NDFA Elite Division leagues.
The midfielder has helped NFC win the NDFA league twice in 2010 and 2011.
Durand Cup will feature a total of 43 matches with Mohun Bagan Super Giant’s taking on Downtown Heroes FC in the opening encounter at Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata.

Kamptee’s Asheer shining in ISL

 

 NorthEast United extends Asheer’s contract for a year

 

By Paritosh Pramanik

NAGPUR, July 15, 2024

THEY could not let him go. Asheer Akhtar, who gallantly saved NorthEast United’s fortunes in the last edition’s Indian Super League, has been retained by the franchise for another year after the defender showed immense maturity and talent to bail his side out of
the pit.
“My contract has been extended for another year. Last year, I joined NorthEast United from Sreenidi Deccan FC. I think I have impressed NE United mamagement,” said Asheer while talking with ‘The Hitavada’ from Guwahati on Monday.
Asheer, son of former City Police footballer Mehfooz Akhtar, has become a pillar of strength of NorthEast United in the country’s most popular league --ISL.
After the defender signed the north-eastern side last year, the team has progressed a lot with Asheer manning the defence line.
The sturdy defender became the ‘Wall’ for NE United and helped the side concede less number of goals to see the team finish at the seventh spot. Last season, NorthEast United played 22 matches and won six, drew eight and lost eight.
Asheer made it to the playing XI on 19 occasions and also scored a goal against Bengaluru FC and won two Hero of the match awards.
“Last year we missed the play-offs by one point and finished seventh but this year we are determined to make it to top six first, and then target the semis,” said the 29-year-old defender who also helped NorthEast United reach Durand Cup semis last year.
Asheer has been playing professionally since 2010. He joined SAIL Football Academy Bokaro and stayed there for two seasons. He spent a couple of seasons in Nagpur playing for Rabbani Club, Kamptee and then again moved to Pune FC Under-19 team. He shifted to Kashmir in 2014 to play second division and then played the Goa League in 2015.
In 2016, Asheer played I-League for Mumbai FC and then joined Bengaluru FC for another couple of years 2018-19). He then moved to East Bengal and then Mohammedan Sporting Club, Kolkata before moving to Sreenidi Deccan Football Club in 2022.
“I started playing as a forward in school (MM Rabbani) and Rabbani Club. But when I moved to Pune, the coached as me to play as a defender. Since then I am playing as a right back,” said Asheer.
Asheer wants Nagpur players to stay calm and have patience.
“Nagpur has immense talent in football. The players need to be patient in their approach and should continue their hard work. One day they will also be able to play for big clubs,” concluded Asheer, who was part of the Hero ISL-winning squad with Bengaluru FC in the 2018-19 season.

Wankhade shining in UK 1st Div league.jpg

Hits two tons and as many fifties to take Dulwich to 4th spot in 10-team table

By Paritosh Pramanik

NAGPUR, July 7, 2024

VIDARBHA’S power-hitting batter Apoorva Wankhade is tonking the balls in the United Kingdom.

Playing for Dulwich Cricket Club in the Surrey Championship, Wankhade has till date scored a couple of centuries and as many fifties for his side.

Wankhade had to sit out of the entire last season as he got injured during the VCA 

selection tournament—Bapuna Cup.

“I suffered with an ACL Ligament injury last year and had to sit out the whole season. It took five months to recover. Now, I am fully fit and ready for the challenges ahead,” Wankhade told ‘The Hitavada’ from Dulwich, on Saturday.

In the championship, Wankhade slammed 89 runs against Normandy Cricket Club. Batting first, Dulwich scored 215 from 43.5 overs with Wankhade hammering 78-ball 89 which had eight boundaries and four maximums. Normandy managed to post 213-8 in 50 overs.

In the other match, the lanky batter cracked a fine 128 from 114 deliveries, clobbering six sixes and nine boundaries which helped Dulwich crush  Walton on Thames Cricket Club by five wickets.

Dulwich chased down the target of 179 in 46.5 overs with Vidarbha’s Wankhade emerging the match’s highest scorer.

“The championship is played in a unique format. A team has to play 18 matches. Nine matches are played in 50-overs-per-side format and remaining nine in 120-overs-per-side. “Top two finishers move to the upper division,” informed Wankhade, who had hit his second century in the 120 overs format against Beddington Cricket Club.

Coming in at No 4, Wankhade continued his aggressive game and hit 121 runs from just 87 deliveries which helped his side post 267 all out in 56.3 overs.

Wankhade’s 121, highest for his side, was laced with 14 sweetly-timed boundaries and four sixes.

Wankhade felt that his good show in the UK will help him get his place back in the Vidarbha team. “My job is to score runs and I am doing that. If I have a bulk of runs under my belt it would help me in getting back into Vidarbha side. I still have  some 14-15 matches left here and will score runs in tons,” said  a confident Wankhade as he signed off to play for another match, this time against Old Hamptonians Cricket Club.

Welcome to Divisional Sports Complex ‘Water Park’

Water leaking from the roof of indoor hall

Dy Director Patil says, maintenance, repair work in progress

By Paritosh Pramanik

NAGPUR, July 6

IT’S an Indoor Hall, no it’s a WATER PARK!!!

Welcome to the Indoor Hall of Divisional Sports Complex, situated in Mankapur, Koradi Road.

If anybody is eager to enjoy 'waterfall' in the city, pay a visit to the indoor hall during the rainy season.

Come rains and the ceiling starts leaking from various corners making it difficult for the shuttlers, paddlers, karatekas, judokas and other budding players to practice.

For years, tall claims have been made by politicians to make Nagpur a sporting hub. But the harsh reality is that hardly anything concrete has been done for the past many years.

Nagpur city is blessed with top leaders like Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, former Maharashtra Chief Minister and current Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to name a few. But despite these stalwarts' presence, sports has been neglected for years.

The present condition of the indoor hall of Divisional Sports Complex is the best example.

In March early this year, a whopping Rs 746 crore was sanctioned for the sports infrastructure development and upgradation of the Divisional Sports Complex. But till date not a single brick has been put in place.

Officials only say, the paperwork is in process and construction work will begin soon.

SOON... How soon? Even they don’t know.

If the indoor hall is leaking, the synthetic track which was laid a few years back is inviting injuries to the athletes as it is torn in some areas.

A video has gone viral on social media where rain water can be seen pouring inside the hall from the roof with a budding shuttler still managing to continue her practice.

When contacted, Shekhar Patil, Deputy Director, Sports and Youth Services, Nagpur Division, said that maintenance work is being carried out regularly,

“The indoor hall is more than a decade old. It is not that we don’t carry out maintenance work. The workers are doing their job regularly. Daily, the leakage on the roof is identified and plugged. Today’s leakage is at another location. This is a new leakage and we will definitely repair it,” said Patil.

It is surprising that despite financial allocations for the Divisional Sports Complex in crores, hardly any development is seen in the recent past.

If we go by records, the State Government had disbursed Rs 51.20 crore for the Complex. Similarly, Rs 63.20 crore was also disbursed by the District Planning Committee from the Playground Development Scheme.

Earlier this year, a proposal of Rs 683.79 crore was put up for the upgradation and renovation of the complex. Accordingly, the government had approved Rs 746.99 crore through which the latest sports infrastructure was to be developed.

In March 2023, the State Government had allocated another Rs 100 crore for the sports complex.

In January, 2020, the then State Government had proposed an ambitious Divisional Sports Complex expansion plan worth Rs 123 crore.

The plan included construction of an international standard swimming pool, shooting range, hockey astro turf, a multipurpose sports indoor hall, an athletics track for practice apart from renovation of the present indoor hall. 

The hockey astro turf and shooting range were proposed at the far corner of the premises, behind the athletics synthetic track gallery.