'Golden boy' Subham left Silchar and went to Karimganj, doing menial job to run his family; Atanu, Shibabrata did not contact

State’s best javelin thrower Subham Ghosh once left Badarpur and went to Silchar for better facilities and infrastructure. He is the star performer of Silchar at the state and national level since the last 4-5 years. But now he is not an athlete of Silchar. Recently, he quietly left for Karimganj. He also won gold medal in the competition held in Guwahati on the occasion of Javelin Day on August 7 wearing Karimganj’s jersey.

Being a resident of Badarpur, it is natural for Subham to play for the Karimganj district team. There are many who have played for Silchar for a long time despite being residents of other districts in the past or are still playing. There are such examples in various events. Athletes from different districts prefer to play officially for Silchar mainly for exposure and better infrastructure. However, incase of Subham, it is quite the opposite!

Subham has won medals wherever he has participated flaunting Silchar’s jersey for the past five years. He has won five golds at the infer district events held in the last five years. But now he’s playing for Karimganj and won the gold at the Javelin day. Actually, Subham is suffering from severe financial problems. His financial condition of the family is already not good. Added with that, Subham’s father and sister are seriously ill. A few days back, he stayed at Silchar Medical College with his sick sister. On top of that, he himself is not getting any job. So due to lack of money he has to do menial work now because of the circumstances. This is now his only hope to run the family. He could not do good practice due to lack of money.

At that period of time, the Silchar District Sports Association also changed. A new elected committee took the charge. However, after the arrival of the new committee, neither president Shibabrata Dutta nor Secretary Atanu Bhattacharjee contacted Subham. Not even when Subham decided to leave Silchar and travel to Karimganj. Minor Games Secretary Satyajit Das did get in touch with Subham but by then it was too late.

Subham said in a somewhat regretful tone, “The new committee did not communicate with me after taking charge. Only Satyajit sir contacted. But that was also too late.” Subham said former Secretary Bijendra Prasad Singh and Sports Organiser Chandan Sharma have always helped him financially. He affirmed, “I have always received a lot of help from Bijendra sir. He helped me whenever I needed money. After my injury, he assisted me using the DSA fund. He also provided personal monetary aid. Chandan sir also never said no. Whenever I went I got help from him. But now they are not in charge. The new Secretary and President did not contact me. But Bijendra sir and Chandan sir told me not to leave Silchar. However I could not keep their word.”

Subham added, “Silchar has given me a lot. I was awarded for performing well at the inter district level. But this is not my permanent solution. How many times will I approach one or two people for help? Believe me, I am in a lot of trouble. Karimganj has promised that they will pay me every month for the practice. So I went there. Let’s see what happens.”

Subham has no mother. His father had a small shop but it no longer exists. Both his father and sister are seriously ill. He has to bear the entire expense of his family. And for meeting the expenses, he sometimes has to engage in soil cutting work and sometimes has to perform menial jobs. However, the situation of Subham would not have been so difficult if the Silchar District Sports Association wanted to do something for him. But who will speak for the interests of the players?

Subham had to fight a lot since childhood including financial crisis. He worked at the shop and bought the first javelin in his career. That struggle continues today. But look at the boy’s record – silver medal at the national championship held in Patna, silver at Assam Olympics, gold at U-17 Javelin Championship, Gold at National Javelin Day 2 years in a row. Gold five times in a row in under 16, 17 and 18 categories. This year also he represented Silchar in the state games and won gold. Despite all this, the golden boy is suffering from financial crisis which is a tragedy of sports.