Lajong sign former Churchill Brothers striker Durga Boro
SHILLONG: Shillong Lajong FC has roped in former Churchill Brothers striker Durga Boro in a bid to further strengthen the squad. The 27-year-old Boro who hails from Assam played for Oil India before signing for Churchill in 2009. Boro, who is known for his speed and skills with the ball, has also played numerous times for his state in regional and national tournaments. “We are extremely happy to have Durga Boro in Lajong. He is a striker with a lot of potential… We wish him all the best and hope that he will play an important role for the club in the remainder of the season,” Lajong general secretary Larsing M. Sawyan said. The Assam striker was equally happy at the signing and said, “Being from the North East, I am very excited to be part of Lajong. I look forward to contribute to the club in the remaining I-League matches.”
Aircel campus football 2013 winners train with Lajong
SHILLONG: The five top players selected from the Aircel 5-A-side campus football tournament in May last year trained with Shillong Lajong FC recently. The boys, one each from Meghalaya, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland respectively were invited to train with the club for a week. The boys, Haobijam Dayananda Singh from Manipur, Zosangliana Khiangte from Mizoram, Uttam Kumar Das from Assam and Ynpynkupbor Nongbsap from Meghalaya trained with the senior members of the club. The player from Nagaland, however, could not make it to the camp which kicked off in January 27 and concluded on February 1. The boys also played friendly matches against the senior players during the week’s training in.
David Beckham’s Miami dream three years away
MIAMI: David Beckham’s new team in Miami will not take to the pitch until at least 2017, the billionaire investor in the ambitious project says, dashing hopes of an earlier start. Peruvian entrepreneur Marcelo Claure, a major partner in Beckham’s move into football ownership, said there was simply too much to do in building a club from top to bottom. There had been high hopes among Miami’s football-starved community — which has not had a top-level soccer team for more than a decade — that the as-yet-unnamed franchise might be ready in 2016. “Three years, three years, 2017. That’s the idea if it all works out like we hope,” said Claure, after Beckham confirmed football’s worst-kept secret Wednesday and said he was bringing football back to Miami. Beckham, Claure and their ownership team — which also includes British pop music and television impresario Simon Fuller — reportedly paid $25 million for the Major League Soccer franchise. “Three years is the objective because we’re creating a soccer team from scratch,” Claure told reporters. “We have to pick coaches, we have to involve the community, we have to pick a name, pick a jersey, we have to convince big-name players to come play for us.” (Agencies)
Indian team to remain in Group II after losing to Hong Kong
Astana (Kazakhstan): Prarthana Thombare and Ankita Raina on Friday lost their singles matches as India suffered their first ever defeat at the hands of Hong Kong to remain in Group II in the Asia/Oceania competition in Fed Cup. The 1-2 defeat was India’s first against Hong Kong in five meetings and it has ended country’s hopes to get promoted to Group I for next year’s competition. 404th ranked Prarthana, who had so far won all her matches, lost 2-6 1-6 to unranked Eudice Chong in the first singles. The onus to bring India back was on country’s number one singles player Ankita Raina but she lost 4-6 3-6 to Liang Ling Zhang, placed 88 places below the Indian in the WTA rankings. (PTI)