Puvanandiran made it all possible
When the 5th International Masters's Goodwill Soccer tournament which
is in progress is being spoken of, one can't forget the man who made it
all possible - R Puvanandiran an outstanding soccerite himself.
|
R Puvanandiran |
Manilal Fernando |
It was a he who put on rails the playing of this tournament for the
first time in Sri Lanka by contributing lavishly to bring down teams
from India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Mauritius.
Soccer of a high standard was on display throughout the tournament at
the City Football League ground and the final will be played today at 5
pm. The tournament was organized by Colombo Veterans Football Club.
This tournament had the blessings of the irrepressible Chairman of
the Management Committee of the Football Federation of Sri Lanka Manilal
Fernando. Fernando who is always available to promote the game welcomed
the idea of playing the Veterans tournament here and gave his all to
make it a success.
Colombo Veterans Football Club is ever grateful to Fernando and say a
big thank you for all the assistance to make this tourney a successful
one. In recent times Fernando has come in for a bit of criticism.
|
Colombo Veterans Football Club M S M Badurdeen, M H M Azeez,
M S M Faiz, A Balendran, R Puanendiran, M U M Azmi, K Ramar,
T S Sudar, G J Premalal, L J Liyanage, B R A Prena, L
Priyantha, M Nizam Packeer Ali, K A Samanth Perera, A A
Longanathan, T Z H Lukmann, K A N Perera, M C M Fawmy, T H
Sudar, U L Nihal. Manager: M Azmi Caption: A Balendran |
But this criticism is nothing new to Fernando because he knows that
it is coming from the ungrateful and he has no grouse with the
perpetrators of this uncharitable criticism and is forgiving.
For Fernando who is Senior Vice President of the Asian Football
Confederation and who is also in FIFA, he takes criticism with his
winsome smile, because for him the game's the thing. He has no time for
the disgruntled.
To the man who made the veterans tournament possible in Sri Lanka is
R Puvanandiran who has been a player of repute learning his basics in
the game at Hindu College, Matale.
He is an active member of the Veterans Club and is also its energetic
President and has a lot more things lined up for its members. He is also
President, City Football League.
Puvanandiran's other achievements are - President Colombo Football
League, member Management Committee, FFSL, Chairman Sponsorship
Committee FFSL. With Puvanandiran at the helm, the Colombo Veterans
Football Club is in for good times.
ER
|
