Anant Bakhale
anant@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: The hard work and dedication towards sports will be finally paid off as the Government has decided to present prestigious State Bakshi Bahaddar Jivabadada Kerkar award to 22 sportspersons and eight sports organisers for their outstanding performances, on January 25. Football has the highest number at six, followed by baseball with five.
Savio Medeira (an Indian football manager and former player who was last the head coach of India U-23), Alvito D’Cunha (retired football player from India), Mahesh Gawli (retired Indian footballer who last played as a defender for Dempo in the I-League), Samir Naik (Indian footballer who plays as a defender for Dempo SC and India), Maymol Rocky Indian women’s football coach) and Uvena Fernandes (first female referee to officiate in a football world championship) were among the football recipients.
Among the organisers is former GFA secretary, Savio Messias, who was among those responsible for signing the MoU with the Porto University for youth development programme and also instrumental in getting the Portuguese coach for the ACOLOP’s Lusofonia Games held in Goa in which Goa (India) won the gold.
The awards will be presented after a gap of 15 years and pertain to the period from 2002 to 2014.
It may be recalled that it was during the presentation of Geno Awards in September 2017, that the Sports Journalists Association of Goa (SJAG) had pointed out to Sports Minister Babu Azgaoncar, who was the chief guest, that no State awards were being given for the past 15 years.
Senior sports journalist Jovito Lopes, SJAG advisor, who in his address had pointed out that it was unfair and unsporting not to recognise the outstanding achievements on time, that the State awards function ought to be an annual affair.
Sports Minister Babu had acceded to the request and asked the Sports Director, V M Prabhudesai to take up the matter on priority basis. The proposal to present the awards was placed before the general body meeting of SAG by Prabhudesai and it was agreed by both Sports Minister Babu and the Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar.
