http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=nov2107/at014
Gilbertson Sangma: man with the golden boot GUWAHATI, Nov 20 That was a sunny day of September 1976. Han Yang University of Korea came here to play an exhibition football match against Assam Police at the Nehru Stadium. The Korean students were the champions of the DCM Trophy that year and immediately after the Delhi tournament they visited the city. The Nehru Stadium was jam-packed and the cops were trailing 0-1 till the 85th minute of the match. Suddenly winger Brajen Brahma sent a floater from the right flank. A police forward took the ball on his thigh and on the rise, the acrobatic forward unleashed a side volley. The ball rested in the net without giving the Korean goalkeeper any scope to punch it away. The gem of a goal sent the whole stadium into frenzy. Incidentally, that was the only goal conceded by the Korean team in their Indian sojourn. The striker was no other than Gilbertson Sangma, undoubtedly the best footballer Assam has ever produced so far. Sangma was the Guest of the Month of the Guwahati Press Club on Tuesday and had a lively interaction with media persons and his followers. Born in Dibrugarh in 1954, Sangma took the game at an early age and started practising with anything spherical by kicking at a wall in the police barrack as his father was an policeman. Witnessing stars like Kamala Nath, Subir Choudhury, Chandra Mohan Ganju, young Gilbert also started dreaming of becoming a footballer. His dream came true when in 1971 he joined the Assam Police and got the chance to be with his idols during the training period at Dergaon. That was the beginning. The God-gifted player did not have to look back since then and became a regular player of the Assam Police team since 1972. He played football at a stretch for long 17 years from 1971 to 1987 scoring numerous goals in all the major tournaments of the country and during that marathon period, he enthralled the crowd in every nook and corner of the State. He also led the Assam team in the Santosh Trophy and represented the Indian team in 1975. He toured Indonesia and Malaysia with the senior India team. But interestingly, he did not play any tournament in the junior level. Recalling his Bordoloi Trophy days Sangma revealed, Assam Police was the leading force in this coveted tournament and lifted the trophy on several occasions. The Calcutta giants Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and Mohameddan Sporting always had respect and fear for the team. In 1971 Assam Police defeated Md Sporting of Calcutta in the final. But that time Sangma was not in the team. Recalling the 1981 summit clash of the tournament, when the policemen downed Dempo Club of Goa, he was the hero of the final being the scorer of the winning goal. With his scintillating skills and speed, with and without ball, and accurate shooting, he became the darling of the crowd but a headache for the opponent defenders. He had the capacity to dodge an opponent defender within a fraction of a second and could plan to outsmart the tough defenders before they could understand him. On the dismal state of the Bordoloi Trophy Sangma said during their time people loved to see the Assam Police team in the Nehru Stadium. They had players like Kalimuddin Ahmed, Chandra Mohan Ganju, Subir Choudhury, Kamala Nath, Tolendra Lahon, Momin Bordoloi, Fakaruddin Laskar, etc who had the capacity to entertain the crowd with their individual skills and as a team they had tremendous fighting spirit. They always put up a spirited show against the big three of Calcutta. That was one of the reasons that people used to come to the Nehru Stadium to enjoy Bordoloi Trophy matches. He advised the youngsters to work hard and go for regular practice sincerely. Terming Arun Borthakur as his most respected player, Sangma said the Oil India forward had all the qualities of a great player. He was not only a skillful player but also a perfect gentleman. On the present Assam Police team he said the creation of the Assam Police Blues team was a blunder on the part of top officials. The newly created team in the city could not put any impact on the people of Assam and as soon as the base of the team was shifted to Guwahati all the past glamour was lost. Asked to name his dream team of the State, he pronounced the names of Mukul Sowar (goalkeeper), Subodh Choudhury, Subir Choudhury, Fazal Haq (defenders), Chandra Mohan Ganju, Dambaru Khanikar (midfielders), Amalendu Dey, Arun Borthakur, Reboti Phukan, Amal Phukan and himself. Presently serving in the capacity of a deputy superintendent of police in Guwahati, Sangma still maintains a good physique with regular workouts and he looks as young as he was during his heydays.
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