Cyclone Ockhi: Island footballers keep their heads above water

Kozhikode: Unfazed by the destruction caused by cyclone Ockhi, the Lakshadweep football team will travel here to re-start their preparation for Santosh Trophy football tournament on December 19. Most of the playing facilities and their football ground at Kavaratti were damaged when the cyclone hit the island.    "There is a huge destruction of infrastructure. Our football camp was going on at Kavaratti Island.  Water has entered the playing ground and all the facilities around the ground have been destroyed. We are shifting our camp to Puthiyapa in Kozhikode from December 19 onward,” said K.I. Nizamuddin, the secretary of Lakshadweep football association.

This is the second time the islanders are going to play in the tournament qualifiers. In their debut season, they played at EMS Corporation Stadium here in the South Zone qualifiers. This year they are grouped in West Zone and will play the matches in Ahmadabad from January 9.   The team is coached by C.M. Deepak, who is from Kozhikode. “I had gone to Kavaratti to select the team and we had a 10-day camp there. Ninety players had come for selection and I trimmed the squad to 20. Two days before Ockhi, I returned to Kozhikode,” said Deepak. “I have invited them to Kozhikode. The main challenge for  me would be to boost their morale before the tournament,”  said Deepak. “The team consists of players from almost every island.  We have planned a couple of friendly matches also,” he said.