Sushila Chanu
India's Women Hockey Team Captain
While whole India is celebrating the success of MS Dhoni, here is the dark side of Indian athletes. Sushila Chanu, the captain of Indian Hockey team is still working as a Ticket collector in Mumbai. She stays in small rent room and goes to her duty. Watch this video where she checks the ticket. We live in a country where Cricketers get millions and rest of the athletes is still struggling even after leading the team in Olympic.
Sushila Chanu born and brought up in Imphal, Manipur in 1992. She started playing Hockey at the age of 11 as her uncle encouraged her to play. She is from a poor family background. Her father is a driver and her mother is a housewife.
The only income she gets is through TTC profession and also she has to lead hockey team. Her daily allowance gets deducted as she has a training camp to attend. In an interview with Hindustan Times, she said,” It’s enough for my own expenses as I don’t have to pay rent and when I am the camp, the food is taken care of.”
“My Railway job is a necessity for me and that is something I have to do”, she said. When she is not representing her skills as a captain, she can be found doing her duty for nation, at Masjid station.
Sushila Chanu’s story is an inspirational one. We hope she achieves her dreams and etch her name in her passionate field.
A Legend We Forgot. Dr Talimeren Ao: India’s First Football Captain From Nagaland.
As Hero ISL 2016 is getting excited as each match gets overwhelming response from a “Cricket Loving” country, it’s time for us to go back to the roots and the acknowledge the Pioneers of Indian Football team about whom we speak very little. In fact you forget their legacy.
One of the Legendary Footballer is
Dr. Talimeren Ao. If you haven’t heard about him,
Dr. Talimeren Ao is the captain of Indian Football team in the first official match in 1948 London Olympics. He was also the part of 1950 world cup team, but the team was barred from entering the tournament just because they played barefooted.
He was born in 28th January 1918, in a village named as Chanki, Assam (Now Nagaland).
Subongwati Ao and
Deikim Doungel is his parents. He completed his schooling from
Impur Christian School where he was the caption of the school team. He was awarded as the “
Best Footballer” in the All Assam Inter School Football Championship, 1937.
In 1950, he played for
Mohun Began where he showed his outstanding performance. In 1950, he also got graduated as a MBBS student in the All Assam Inter School Football Championship, 1937.
In 1953, the Government posted him as Assistant Civil Surgeon, to Kohima Hospital, Nagaland. Dr.T.Ao rose to become the first Naga Director of Health Services. He held this post till his retirement in 1978.
On 13th of September 1998 this legend left this earthly body and went to heaven above. But little less we know he is the legend of Football of early India. Mohun Bagan AC honored him with the "
Mohun Bagan Ratna Award" in 2002 for his achievements.
Dr. T. Ao Football Trophy tournament is conducted in Nagaland on remembrance of this great man. But Indian government should take enough actions to honor this legendary Footballer of India by conducting National level games on his remembrance and to carry out his name for the next generation.
As John Abraham said, “North East India is the Hotbed of Football”, if our respective government invest on North East India, surely our country will get some diamonds from North East India.