There was no feni in sight, but it was books and beer at the launch of a book called Goans in Sport by former hockey international and Tata Sports Club hockey player, Avitus D&rsquo;Cruz at Mumbai&rsquo;s Press Club, recently. The author sat amidst a galaxy of sports stars with Goan origins at the launch. The book is a chronicle of achievements by some known and unknown Goan sport stars. Hockey international Joaquim Carvalho who was part of the panellists on the dais first congratulated &lsquo;Avi&rsquo; on his book saying that, &ldquo;when it comes to spotting talent on the hockey field, this stalwart was second to none.&rdquo; <img alt="" src="/imagedata/2012/apr/12goa.jpg" style="width: 500px; height: 269px; " /> (From left to right) Former FIFA referee Alex Vaz, Avitus D&rsquo;Cruz, Joaquim Carvalho and Eliza Nelson at the book launch. Pic/SURESH KK Carvalho recalled Avitus watching him play hockey when he was very young. Avitus had gone up to Carvalho and told him, &ldquo;Son, one day you will play for India.&rdquo; Carvalho also said that Avitus himself played hockey at a time when greats like Ajitpal Singh and Vece Paes were playing, so competition was tough. Eliza Nelson, former hockey international and captain of the 1980 Indian women&rsquo;s hockey team at the Moscow Olympics said, &lsquo;I feel very proud of being a Goan today. Usually, we take a backseat and are not known to praise ourselves.&rdquo; Eliza also spoke about Avitus as a coach saying, &ldquo;he has been at our matches and has also coached us.&rdquo; International football referee Alex Vaz, added that it was the first time that a Goan has come forward to highlight the achievements of Goans and that itself, &ldquo;is unique&rdquo;. The fourth and final panellist, Avitus, said he was &ldquo;relieved&rdquo; that his book was over, &ldquo;I wanted to highlight the outstanding contribution of these sportspersons &mdash; some of them well known and the others, not that well-known,&rdquo; he said. He was asked why his book read more like a compilation or compendium, a listing of these sportspersons. &ldquo;Why couldn&rsquo;t you talk to these sport stars?&rdquo; he was asked. Avitus said, &ldquo;It was very difficult to trace all of them. I sent out 40 questionnaires and got replies to two of them. Sometimes, these sports stars would tell me to come to Madgaon to interview them, but, when I reached Madgaon they would still be in Panjim,&rdquo; said Avitus citing the difficulty in tracking them down. The book is not in bookstores as yet. &ldquo;We have to still put a price and decide about that,&rdquo; said Avitus. However for sports lovers and Goans, this book, with sunshine boy, Leander Paes on the cover, is a useful Goa-stars-at-a-glance read. u00a0

Mumbai recently saw the launch of a book called 'Goans in Sport' by former hockey international Avitus D'Cruz

Book on Goan sports personalities released

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