Darjeeling, Nov. 13/TT: Bengal government has appointed Bhaichung Bhutia as the sports “icon and ambassador” of the state.
The announcement was made by state sports minister Madan Mitra at the St Joseph’s School (North Point) ground where the final of the All India Brigade of Gurkha Gold Cup was held today.
Jamshedpur-based Tata Football Academy defeated Bhaichung’s United Sikkim 2-1 in the final.
“Our government has appointed Bhaichung Bhutia as the icon and ambassador of sports in Bengal,” Mitra said amid huge applause from the supporters of the former national football captain in Darjeeling.
Bhaichung thanked the Bengal government for the initiative. “It is a great honour. I have spent half of my life in Bengal and I will try my best to promote football and other sports in the state,” the player said when told about the minister’s announcement.
The minister said the government was pumping in Rs 3 crore (to renovate the Gorkha stadium at Lebong) and would soon start winter sports in the hills along with special camps for games like hockey. “Our government has also decided to give Rs 1 lakh to the winning team, Rs 75,000 to the runners up and Rs 50,000 to the man of the match of this tournament,” said Mitra.
Despite, Bhaichung being appointed the sports ambassador and the crowd cheering his team all along, the Sikkim team failed to win the finals. The match was tied till half time. Although Bhaichung stepped into the field after 60 minutes, the TFA pumped in two goals through Balmuch and Simranjit. Bhaichung tried to make way for another goal but a tight TFA defence hardly gave any space to him.
Nevertheless, the Sikkim team fought hard with Karan Atwal finding the net though it proved too little and too late. The TFA won with the final score reading 2-1.
After the match, Bhaichung said: “The game is about winning and losing. Our boys also played well today and I would like to congratulate the TFA for lifting the Gurkha Gold Cup.”
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