K.Sampath interacts with students of Bishop Heber College
Any international medal is a prized possession. And so it is for the former Indian football team goalkeeper K.Sampath who was part of the bronze-medal winning Indian team at 1970 Bangkok Asian Games.
“We should have made it to the final. Still, winning a medal for the country was prestigious,” he said during an interaction with the students of Bishop Heber College here on Wednesday.
It has been more than 50 years since Indian football team played at the Olympics. Will our team make it again in the future?
“First, we have to prove our might at the Asian-level to qualify for Olympics and World Cup,” he replied.
Mr.Sampath, a fan of Brazil football team, was hopeful that his favourite team would win its first Olympic gold medal in football in London. “It will be another feather in its cap,” he said.
Taking pride in the fact that both the finalists of Euro 2012 – Spain and Italy – were led by goalkeepers , Mr.Sampath reckoned that captaincy was an added responsibility. “Goalkeeping warrants tremendous concentration. Iker Casillas did well both as Spanish captain and custodian,” the former assistant coach of the Indian team said. He advised the young sportspersons to put in sustained hard work to reap rich rewards.
D.Paul Dhayabaran, principal of the college, and L.C.John, director of Physical Education, were present at the interaction session organised by Rotaract Club and Department of Physical Education of the college.
At the valediction of the sports day, Mr.Sampath gave away prizes to the students. S.Daniel Ranjith (I B.A. History) and T.Shanthi (I B.A. Economics) were adjudged individual champion in the men’s and the women’s section. Green House won the overall championship.
