"I have come up by working from the grassroot level": Chandan Sharma, Secretary candidate optimistic about winning

He started his career in divisional football with Town Boys Club in Silchar in 1980. That year Town Boys Club defeated strong teams like Irrigation RC and became champions. Chandan Sharma was an important member of the team. It was the beginning of a journey which is still going on today. Only his role has changed. Now he is an ardent sports organiser as well as the Secretary candidate of the upcoming BGM of DSA.

It is difficult to find a person associated with the field who does not know Chandan Sharma. He can be seen in the field all year round. In the last four years, he did not hold any position in the District Sports Organisation. Still, he was seen organising various tournaments from Town Club ground to India Club and Satindra Mohan Dev Stadium. Be it the Barak Valley Sports Journalist Association’s Media Cricket Fest or the Silchar Veteran Cricketers Club’s Barak Premier League, you’ll see Chandan Sharma at the forefront.

Secretary candidate Chandan called a press conference today after the panel of the ruling party named him. He highlighted his own success as a footballer and organiser. Chandan Sharma was quite famous as a footballer and played in the jerseys of big clubs of Silchar like Town Boys, India Club, Town Club, PHE and Police AC. He played in district teams at junior, sub junior and senior levels. He also played in the National School Games held in 1984 and 1985.

He joined the District Sports Association as an organiser in 1982. India Club sent him to the organisation as a General Council Member. After that, Chandan Sharma did not have to look back. From 1986 to 1990, he worked continuously in the football department of the organisation and handled his duties as Assistant Secretary of the Football Department. After that he was in charge of Football Secretary from 2002 to 2010. From 2010 to 2015, he was in charge as the Ground Secretary of District Sports Association. Then he became the Stadium Secretary from 2015 to 2018 and AGS in 2018-19 term.

Chandan Sharma has also been the manager of various teams at various times. Notable among them is that he was the manager of Silchar team which became the Under 19 Inter District Cricket champion in 2004. He also held the position of manager of the Assam team for the CK Naidu trophy. He managed that responsibility three times. He served five times as the manager of Silchar senior cricket team. But the biggest highlight of Chandan Sharma’s career is that he has not held any position in the Silchar District Sports Association since the last four years. Still, he did not remove himself from the field. This is where he differs from the rest. Chandan Sharma has been seen in all the big and small tournaments held in the last four years even though he was not in charge. Whenever present Secretary Bijendra Prasad Singh called him he rushed to the field.

Chandan Sharma said, “I am going to present my demand for the post of Secretary working from the grassroots level. For so many years I have worked under the reputed Secretaries of the association. In the last four years, I have handled various tournaments at the call of Secretary Bijendra, even without holding any responsibility.” The sports organiser said that he is trying to communicate with every voter of the Association and also getting good response. He hopes that the members of the Association will not disappoint him.

Speaking to reporters the Secretary candidate said, “Look, I am not playing T20, I am playing a Test match. Not just one or two tournaments, you will find me on the field all year round. Sports is religion to me. The field is the last thing for me.” Speaking about his opponent he said “Atanu Bhattacharjee is my younger brother’s friend. He has the right to submit his claim as the Secretary. That’s what he did. I don’t want to say anything about it. But as I am getting good response, I don’t think the fight will be difficult for me.”

Chandan Sharma also praised Silchar MLA Dipayan Chakraborty. He said, “After Bijendra left, I got the offer of the Secretary. Bijendra is with me. All kinds of cooperation have been extended. Our MLA is also very supportive and helpful. Recently he has sanctioned 25 lakh rupees for infrastructure development. He also gave a transformer to the District Sports Association. He is providing all sorts of help to improve the infrastructure of DSA.”

Chandan Sharma wants to give special emphasis on football if he is provided the opportunity. He said, “Two big challenges will await me after taking the office. The first is football clearance. Then table tennis ranking. The table tennis ranking will be held in the first week of August itself. As a result, there will be very little time for preparation. It will be a big challenge.”