GUWAHATI, Aug 9 - In 1945, the Eastern Bengal Railway Football Club, a senior division football team from Kolkata, came to take part in two exhibition football matches at the Judges� Field, and thus started sporting activities at the field after a break of around five years, when it was under the occupation of the troops of the Allied Forces between 1940 and 1945, said noted writer Kumudeswar Hazarika, while talking to The Assam Tribune.
The Kolkata team was led by noted footballer late Mohini Banerjee, an international footballer of the pre-World War II period. He came to Jorhat in the 1950s as coach of the Thengalbari Club, which was launched by late Shashi Prasad Borooah.
In 1946, the Decca Wari Club of present-day Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, played an exhibition cricket match with Maharana AC at the Judges� Field, in which late Nalini (Pilik) Choudhury captured three wickets at a stretch and thus made a hattrick.
In the later part of 1947, the most remarkable cricket matches played at the Judges� Field were the ones between the Assam Governor�s Eleven and the Assam Premier�s Eleven and between the Assam Eleven and the Bengal Eleven. The Bengal Eleven team was led by famous cricketer N Chatterjee, said Hazarika.
In the early 1950s, the Sabitribala and Mathuramohan Baruwa Cricket tournaments were organised by the Gauhati Cricket Association at the Judges� Field. The Association was established in 1947. Around this time, the Abhay Shankar Guha Memorial Inter Institutional Cricket Tournament was also organised by the Gauhati Cricket Association at the Judges� Field.
This tournament was later conducted by the Gauhati Sports Association.
The Gauhati Sports Association was formed by merging the Gauhati Cricket Association, Gauhati Football Association, Gauhati Volleyball Association, Gauhati Hockey Association, Gauhati Badminton Association and Gauhati Table Tennis Association in 1956. Its founder president was late RG Baruah and the founder general secretary was late Krishna (Kartik) Dutta Hazarika.
In 1948, an exhibition match was held between the Indian Olympic football team led by Dr T Ao, and the Gauhati Eleven, led by late Sarat Das.
In 1953, all senior division football clubs of Calcutta came to play exhibition matches with Maharana AC, Gauhati Town Club and the Gauhati Football Association. The matches were held at the Judges� Field.
Incidentally, that was the first occasion when the East Bengal Club faced defeat in Guwahati. The East Bengal Club was beaten by Maharana AC by virtue of the lone goal scored by Kanak Bordoloi, an Olympic reserve player of India in 1956.
Till 1962, the Judges� Field thus remained the major venue of football, cricket and other sporting activities of Guwahati as well as Assam.
It was also the venue of three Ranji Trophy cricket matches in 1955, said Hazarika.
