KOCHI: The Kerala police football team is on cloud nine after winning the 68th BN Mullik Police Championship held at Barrackpore in West Bengal recently.
The team, which had a fairly comfortable outing in the tournament, defeated their rivals, the CRPF team, by two goals in the final. The last win for the team in this tournament was way back in 2013.
One of the biggest challenges that the team faced was the number of matches they had to play in the 10-day tournament.
“We had to play eight games in the tournament, which was physically and mentally exhausting for the players,” said city-based coach Sunil S. The win also held a special meaning to the team that was knocked out of the semi-final of the same tournament by CRPF in Malappuram last year.
“Everyone gave their best performances at the game. We also wanted to give a proper farewell to Sharaf Ali, our team manager who is retiring from the club,” said Harry Baizon, a Vizhinjam native.
According to Sunil, the team has already recruited seven new players. “The new members are presently undergoing a three-month training at Thycaud police ground. One or two players will be included in our squad for the upcoming Kerala Premier League,” he said.
The team emerged champions in the 2019 District Super Division Football which was held in March. The league featured some of the city’s top teams such as KSEB, SBI, Kovalam FC, AG’s office and Titanium FC. However, national tournaments are hardly hosted by the state, and this is one issue bothering the players and the coach.
“KPL and the Mayor’s Cup were the only national tournaments held in the state this year. Due to this, we are forced to play tournaments outside the state to remain competitive,” said Sunil.
Eyeing Santosh Trophy
Sreerag V G and Vipin Thomas, two players from the police team are part of this years Kerala Santosh Trophy contingent. Sreerag is playing the trophy for the fifth time, including this year. He is hopeful of Kerala putting on a good performance at the tournament. “The team is confident and we are hoping to get good results,” said Sreerag. He also added that winning the national police championship was no easy task. “The tournament was more physically draining than the Santosh trophy, as it had continuous matches without any break,’’ he said.