Kolkata: Rooting out corrupt practices from the state sports arena and bringing glory to Bengal were his main tasks now, said Indranil Khan, after becoming the minister of state (independent charge) for sports and youth affairs and consumer affairs departments on Wednesday. He said
nepotism and syndicates at Maidan clubs had to end.
Pointing out how the case in the Messi incident fiasco in Dec last year was now reopened, Khan said proper attention would have to be given to sports management. “Under Trinamool govt, merit in several fields, including sports, took a back seat. The job will now be promoting talented sportsmen so that they can bring laurels and achieve success in international arenas. Young talents are to be promoted through regular meets.”
Khan said, “Even in football, our state players will have to be encouraged so that they can don the Indian Tricolour, and ultimately, India can play World Cup. We need to see Bengal’s footballers are not deprived or forced to shift to some other states. Our main task is to take Bengal’s sportsmen to the international level. The state’s primary goal is to provide world-class training and top-notch infrastructure support to help state athletes compete on international stages, like Olympics and Commonwealth Games.
We would like to have tie-ups with SAI. Our sportsmen have great potential, which needs to be showcased at global forums. The state will provide all help.”
He claimed the youths were turned into migrants by the previous Trinamool govt and that it was now time to check the drain.