Four footballers - Mahesh Gawli, Dipak Mondal, Climax Lawrence and Renedy Singh - have been nominated by The All India Football Federation (AIFF) for the prestigious Arjuna Award. The federation has also put forward the name of Dempo coach Armando Colaco for the Dronacharya.
The footballers, Mahesh Gawli, Dipak Mondal, Climax Lawrence and Renedy Singh were part of the Nehru Cup winning team previous year. The very same players will also take part in the impending AFC Challenge Cup in Hyderabad scheduled to begin from July 29 onwards.
Dempo coach Armando Colaco was crucial in the team’s winning the introductory I-league as well as for its qualifying the AFC Champions League. I.M. Vijayan was the last footballer who was honored with the Arjuna Award in 2002, whereas Coach Syed Nayeemuddin happens to be the only one to get both the Arjuna (1970) and Dronacharya (1992).
