Footballer-turned-author pens Mayurbhanj's glorious soccer history

BARIPADA: Elderlies and sports buffs know that Mayurbhanj has a rich football history that dates back to the British era. Paresh Chandra Das, a footballer himself, has now brought the entire history of the district's soccer glories within two covers.
Das' book Football Khela Khelali' not only describes the glorious past of football in Mayurbhanj, but also remembers the forgotten heroes of the Mayurbhanj team.It was released by Shraddhananda Das, president of the Orissa State Sportspersons' Association at a meeting held at the Conference Hall of the Baripada Municipality on Sunday.
Das, born on November 20, 1939, is an active member of the Mayurbhanj Veteran Sportspersons' Association and continues to work for growth and promotion of sports, football being the first choice.
Das recounted how in 1937, the Corinthian team known to be brilliant in sports and then touring India, was invited by the then king Late Maharaja Pratap Chandra Bhanj Deo to meet the Maharaja Ekadash' in an exhibition match at the police parade ground at Baripada.
The Maharaja Ekadash was composed of players from Mayurbhanj team, one player from BNR and one from Cuttack with Late Braja Sundar Dash, the legendary coach of Mayurbhanj team as its Captain.
In the decisive battle, the Maharaja Ekadash defeated the Corinthians by an 1-0 margin. Mr. Oddey of BNR was the scorer of the decisive goal. Besides Oddey of BNR, another eminent footballer of Cuttack, N N Mohapatra, more popularly known as Felu Mohapatra, also joined the Mayurbhanj team in the battle royal with the Corinthians, Paresh Das said.
The Mayurbhanj team also had Braja Sundar Dash (Captain), Krushna Chandra Dash, Jagannath Behera, Bankim Behari Dutta, Kamalendu Kumar Bose, Atindra Chakravar by, Nityagopal Dey, Harendra Kumar Samal, Dinabandhu Bose, and Shyam Sundar Dash (extra player).
Speaking about the legendary coach of Mayurbhanj team, Late Braja Sundar Das, The author said he was an extraordinary footballer and he played for the Aryans Club for eleven years from 1931 to 1941.