In response to my message below I got an email from Mr. Raul Fernandes ex Don Bosco who is the only Goan player coming out of Goa who played Goal Keeper for Indian Airlines in the mid seventies. He also represented Goa Juniors twice in the mentioned period before being taken up by IA. Raul has won many accolades with the game since leaving for Dubai and creating his own club in 1975. I am quoting him directly from his message :
Quote :"In Dubai I ran my own team which was initially known as DNATA HOCKEY CLUB (formed in 1983) then we changed the name to EMIRATES AIRLINE hockey club (in 1985 when Emirates was formed) I was the Goalkeeper and Manager and we travelled all over the world to promote Emirates and Dubai. We were at that time one of the best teams in the Gulf and we won many tournaments around the world. Some are : Mapinduzi Trophy in Tanzania (twice), Worthing Hockey Cup in England, Staines Hockey Cup in England, Philadelphia Hockey Cup in USA, toured Kenya, Germany, USA, Canada, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Tanzania, UK (played against UK Goans), Bahrain, Kuwait, etc. I was the keeper and Manager for all the trips and wound up in 1998. We also won several trophies in UAE. Before forming my own team in Dubai I used to play for the Goan Sports Club and won quite a few trophies in the early eighties. I am now into Sports Management specializing in football Players and Coaches Management. I have my own company in Dubai known as Gulf International Promotions. Our website is www.gipdubai.com.I am also into organizing football events and have previously brought Churchill Brothers, Kerala Police and Sri Lankan team to play in Dubai." Unquote BC In my belief the best team assembled was in 1977 by one Red ant from Guirim. It was a junior boys team under 18?playing against many bharat top players. Team Goa narrowly missed qualification into quarterfinals after losing narrowly to Madhya Pradesh 3-2. Another good performance was the ladies team somewhere in the 70's also. I think they lost in the semi finals to Punjab.
