GUWAHATI, Jan 25 - Dr T Ao Birth Centenary Celebration Committee will celebrate the birth centenary of Dr Talimeren Ao, the first captain of the Indian football team in the Olympics.
The celebration will start on�January 28�with an exhibition football match at the SAI ground here between the Governor�s XI and Chief Minister�s XI. Prior to that, a postage stamp will be released commemorating the contribution of Dr Ao to Indian football.
Dr Ao was born at Changki, Mokokchung district of Nagaland on January 28, 1918.
Addressing a press conference here today, the organising body president Swapnanil Baruah said that it is for the first time in the history of the Northeast that a postage stamp containing a photograph of a sportsperson will be released. He further revealed that the function will kick-start at�5:30 pm�at the SAI complex. He said the Nagaland government has recognised the event and is likely to provide support.�
During the month-long celebration, a quiz competition among the universities of the Northeast will be conducted at the Royal Global University here and the subject will be �Sports promotes competition not friendship�.
Director of Sports and Youth Welfare Pabitra Ram Khound said his department will celebrate the occasion with various programs all over the State.
Maharana Athletic Club, which was represented by the legendary footballer, will also celebrate the occasion in a befitting manner. Maharana AC president KK Bora said they are planning to set up a sports archives in memory of Dr T Ao.
The birth centenary celebration committee will also organise an under-21 football tournament from�February 23�among the seven north-eastern states and Sikkim at the Lakshmibai National Institute of Physical Education complex at Sonapur and SAI complex here.
Other programs like a football clinic for U-13 players and a sports injury clinic, among others, will also be held during the celebration.
Dr Ao hailing from Nagaland played for Maharana Athletic Club during his Cotton College days before joining Kolkata�s Mohun Bagan Club in the early 1940s when he was a medical student. He was selected to lead the Indian football team in the 1948 London Olympics.
The organising body�s working president Balendra Mohan Chakravarty and secretary Subodh Malla Baruah also spoke on the occasion about different plans.
