It was the first league match of the tournament between Purulia and Hooghly. The first half of the match went goalless. The tension was rising in the second half. In the final minutes of the game, Sandeep Mahato of Purulia dribbled past two opponents and took a shot that hit the post of the net. The ball was caught by an opponent player, Provanka Debnath who tried to take the ball away from Purulia. It was at this moment that Sandeep Mahato again splits through the opponent¡¯s defense and took a sensational volley shot which hit the back of the net thereby shattering all of Hooghly¡¯s hopes of winning the game. Just to mention here Sandeep Mahato is almost 55% disabled with both upper and lower limbs partly dysfunctional.??
This is just one of the many instances which left everyone spellbound during the tournament in which Purulia became a champion. This was the first State Mixed Disability Football Tournament where around 60 athletes from 6 qualifying districts from West Bengal, namely Kolkata, North 24 Parganas, Hooghly, Birbhum, Malda and Purulia participated. Co-organised by Civilian Welfare Foundation in collaboration with KMC Ward No. 95 the tournament paved the way for screening 14 para-footballers from Bengal.
Abhirupa Kar, secretary of the Civilian Welfare Foundation says, "Disability classification is one of the most important aspects of disability football. This is one of the main reasons why para-athletes from West Bengal get disqualified from various Paralympic games nationally and internationally. We are so thankful to Tapan Dasgupta, Councilor and Youths of TMYCP of Ward 95 for allowing this aspect of the game to be conducted in a rightful and impartial manner. They made sure that for the first time in eastern India athletes with disabilities were classified in football. " Tapan Dasgupta, when asked about his experience in organizing this state event, was thrilled and exhilarated. He mentioned repeatedly the spectacular skills and merit of the para-footballers and stressed that the success of the tournament he organised lies in the fact that he could let so many people see this unique football.?
Team Purulia as a team was not the strongest but rather one of the most underrated among the 6 districts. The para-athletes come from financially weaker sections of society. They don¡¯t have the proper infrastructure or facilities for their regular training. Most of them do not even have a stable source of income and depend on the monthly disability allowance they receive from the government. They have been associated with sports for as long as they can remember and yet they don¡¯t have the basic sports equipment like shoes and gloves. A conversation with all the para-athletes will make it clear that they didn¡¯t even get the chance to practice together as a team before the tournament.?
The personal hardships these para-athletes face in their daily life is not something that can be ignored either. Their captain Ganesh Mahato has been playing football, kabaddi and volleyball for as long as he can remember. He was a member of the national football team. He however has been unemployed for the past many years. He earns a meager amount by farming and cultivation. Another teammate of his, Gurupada Mahato plays volleyball and football. He has participated in quite a few tournaments including a state-level volleyball tournament in Birbhum where they were runners-up. He works as a lab attendant at Sidho Kanho University as a Group D employee. He earns hardly Rs. 12,000 a month for a family of five. Footballer Nimai Mahato has been playing football since 2010. He has been playing in several district-level tournaments over the last several years. He has however been unemployed for quite some years. With covid19 things have deteriorated further. Both Nimai and Ganesh depend on the monthly allowance the state government gives to individuals with disabilities.?
Purulia¡¯s road to victory was not easy. They were the only team who didn¡¯t lose a single match in the tournament. They won their first league match against Hooghly by 2 goals and ended the second league match in a draw. Their semi-final match against Kolkata was one that will be remembered for a long as the match showed how balanced defence with an intermittent offence can pave the way for victory against even the toughest opponent. Sir Alex Ferguson says, ¡°Attack wins you games, defence wins you titles.¡± This quote was brought to life in the semi-final between Purulia and Kolkata. Throughout the game, Kolkata dominated in terms of ball possession, shots on target, set pieces and pass completion. Because of this, the goalkeeper Sanjay, otherwise a striker, opted to play as a ¡®rush goalie¡¯ in which the role of a goalkeeper is relatively more flexible than otherwise, especially because his ball distribution ability is noteworthy. On the other hand, Purulia¡¯s defence throughout the whole game was rock solid with Gurupada, Sanjay and Amar Mahato. The center-back of Purulia Amar had to make many crucial tackles but never did he concede a penalty, there was no sign of foul play. They made clean tackles and proper interceptions. As a result, the midfielders of Kolkata could not link with the forwards. This disrupted Kolkata¡¯s play and did not let Kolkata play in rhythm. In the final minutes of the game, when Kolkata¡¯s defence line was absent along with their goalkeeper, Purulia took full advantage of it and they tactfully scored a goal after which it was impossible for Kolkata to make a comeback. Purulia celebrated in utter joy while it shattered Kolkata¡¯s hopes of winning the title. As their team manager Subhojit Majumdar and representative of Trinomul Yuva Congress ward 95 remarked ¡°This was our final match, when we have won against Kolkata, no one can stop us now¡±.?
Their final against North 24 Parganas was a tough one to crack. The first half of the match ended with Purulia having a 2-goal lead. In the early second half, North 24 Parganas levelled Purulia¡¯s lead. This made Team Purulia buckle up and they again took the lead with a spectacular bicycle shot by Hemanta Mahato. To Purulia¡¯s bad luck, however, North 24 Parganas levelled their lead again. This resulted in a penalty shootout (tie-breaker) where Purulia was able to put all targets on the shot and emerge as winners.?Dr Shashi Panja , Minister Department of Women and Child Development and Social Welfare graced the event along with many eminent national footballers like Shyam Thapa, Sumeet Mukherjee and Bikash Panji.?
At the end of this unique event which was also supported by JR Foundation, TMYCP ward 95 and Sundhamata Foundation, Sabyasachi Chakraborty, an eminent actor, who was present at the tournament to motivate the para-athletes, rightly said, "Each and every person connected with the tournament is equally important. From the para-athletes to the person fixing the nets. Each person has their unique contribution to the game without which the tournament remains incomplete.¡¯¡¯??????????????