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26 year old Kerala-born central defender Anas Edathodika is the winner of the ‘Pune FC Player of The Year 2012-13′. By receiving the award, Anas ended the three year winning streak of PFC’s foreigner footballers since the inception of the same. Anas, in fact, stepped into the spotlight twice when he was also given the ‘Pune FC Man of Steel’ award during a glittering function held at the Marriot Courtyard, Hinjewadi in Pune on Saturday evening.
While Anas became the first Indian to win the club’s top annual award, he also became the first defender to punch above the rest.
The fourth annual awards function completed Pune FC’s sixth season in existence as the first professional club in the city known as the Oxford of the East.
Anas received a glittering trophy and a cash-incentive of Rs 200,000 (2 lakhs) for the top award of the day, which, incidentally, was the last for the evening. The award was jointly presented by Pune FC owners Rajeev and Nandan Piramal, along with their respective wives Roopali and Anjali.
The evening studded with entertainment had 12 awards at stake – eight in the senior section and four in the junior section.
While performances by Pune-based band Livewire kept the evening lively, the Piyush Malhotra Dance School troupe enchanted the audience with a traditional Maharashtrian dance.
For Anas, the one important reason that stood in his favour was his dependability in the backline that helped Pune FC achieve their best-ever I-League performance – a runners-up place in the 2012/13 season.
“I dedicate this award to my family who stood by me in my pursuance of being my best,” said Anas on the sidelines of the function. “I thank Pune FC for the love they showed me. I appreciate it all,” he added.
The Ashok Piramal Group ‘Young Player of The Year’ award went to Punjab-born left-wing back Gurjinder Kumar, who incidentally claimed the award for the second time after the 2010/11 season. The defender was richer by Rs 150,000 (1.5 lakhs) and was presented the award by Pune FC Head of Operation, Chirag Tanna.
The ‘Players’ Player Award,’ an award nominated by the entire Pune FC senior team (I-League) squad, was claimed by central midfielder Ivory Coast‘s Djidja Pierre Douhou Sey. The Rs 100,000 (1 lakh) cash award and trophy was presented by James Effiong, Pune FC’s first-ever PIO (Player of Indian Origin) signed in 2007/08.
“It’s an honour to be called back. I appreciate the thought… and my, my the club has grown since the time I played,” James opined.
Defender Chika Wali bagged this season’s ‘Urvi Ashok Piramal Foundation (UAPF) Award’, which is an award for a players’ contribution to the community through football, and had Directors Pankaj Sisodia, Rohan Gavaskar and Kunal Chandra hand over the recognition.
As the day unfolded, Anas added the ‘Man of Steel’ award given to the player with the maximum appearances for the Pune FC seniors in the Federation Cup and I-League.
Fan-favourite midfielder Arata Izumi bagged the ‘Fans’ Player of The Year’ in a fierce online fan voting competition conducted over a fortnight on social media. As a custom, three lucky fans from the voting list were selected to give away the prizes. The fans this year included Swaraj Bhat, Satyajeet Hoskote and Shubankar Inamdar.
The ‘Goal of The Year’ award was claimed by midfielder Sukhwinder Singh for his 35-yard strike against Dempo SC in a Round-22 home game. The goal was Sukhwinder’s first in Pune FC’s colours and led his side to a 2-0 win. Out-going Coach Derrick Pereira did the honours, handing out a cheque of Rs 50,000.
Midfielder Mumtaz Akhtar topped training hard all year long, and received ‘Best Trained Player of The Year’ award from fitness trainer Elton Menezes. The award was also worth Rs. 50,000.
Continuing with their trend of encouraging and awarding junior players, Pune FC, for the third year, feted four players across three age groups. Pune FC Head of Operations Chirag Tanna said, “They deserve to be rewarded for hard work in order to motivate them to be successful and serve as ambassadors that other players look up to.”
In the Under-19 section, Mizoram lad F. Lalrempuia, who recently was drafted into the the senior squad from the Peninsula Pune Football Club Academy established last year, was adjudged ‘Best Under-19 Player’. The midfielder received his award from PFC Under-19 coach Gift Raikhan.
Manipur defender Salam Ranjan Singh earned the ‘Best Disciplined Player’ award and was handed over his prize by Pune FC Senior Executive (Admin) Amit Dharap and Pune FC Senior Executive (Accounts) Atul Pande.
The ‘Best Under-17 Player’ award went to defender Chetan Choudhury, while Sayyam Kathuria claimed the ‘Best Under-15 Player’. Both Chetan and Sayyam are city-based players and are in their second year with the club.
Barring the Player of the Year in the juniors section, which carried a Rs. 40,000 cash prize, all junior awards were worth Rs 20,000 apart from a trophy for all.
The night also marked the end of coach Derrick Pereira’s four-year association with the club. “I thank you all,” said Derrick and added, “I’m taking with me more than what I got from this period.”
