When all sports are considered equal, some are more equal than others in India. Cricket takes the throne when it comes to the favourite sport in the country. However, football has seen a resurgence in recent times. Chandran Memorial Football Club from Oragadam is one such club which promotes soccer in the neighbourhood like no other, for it has been in existence for more than two decades, having formed in 1998. But the roots of the club dates back a couple of generations, say people associated with the club.
The club team has won the First Division league of Tiruvallur District Football Association that recently concluded. The four month-long tournament saw the 25-member team come out on top in the first division. Speaking to News Today, team captain Rajesh Kumar, said the victory came after six years of hard work.
The league matches are conducted in four divisions, namely – super, first, second and third. If a team wins the third league, it will be promoted to second and so on. The top teams in the super division get to slug it out with top teams of other districts. The event took place at Pattabiram PTMS grounds.
“Our training started over a year ago, although specific training for the tournament started two months back. We played practice matches and went for training at the beach to get out fitness levels up,” said the captain. “Once the tournament got under way, we stayed put and kept practice to our normal training regime to avoid injuries,” he added.
Team coach M Guru, who was a football player himself for Madras University, until six years ago when he hanged his boots, said the secret for their triumph this year was no secret at all. “We played a lot more practice matches. The junior teams of Chennaiyin FC played against us and the management of the club gave us a lot of tips to improve our game. That really helped us. We also trained during the night, under lights and beach practice made things get better, said the coach.”
“The team members comprise of school and college students and some working youngsters, all of whom gave their best,” said the coach. “My boys came to practice without fail. They trained hard and triumphed the sixth time. It was not easy on them either. They had to practice two times a day regardless of the weather,” he said. “The next aim? Winning the super division of course!” said Guru. “We want to take on the best teams in the State after that, added the enthusiastic Rajesh. The team will be celebrating their victory today, stated the duo as they signed off. After all, victories should be honoured with revels, should they not?” Contact them at 9940134950, 9677115868.