It was an evening when some of the football legends from the city went down memory lane while reflecting on the state of the sport.

On Saturday, Ethic Sports Foundation felicitated some of the finest sportspersons from the city, under the banner of ‘City of Heroes’, which also saw a sprinkling of outstanding women athletes like 2004 Athens Olympian J.J. Shobha, Arjuna Awardee and volleyballer Mulini Reddy and quite a few kabaddi players.

The objective of the event was to honour these stars of yesteryears and also remember the contribution of legendary football coach S.A. Rahim, who scripted India’s golden era in football.

Some of the speakers included sports historian and commentator Novy Kapadia, former sports scribe N. Ganesan, Olympians T. Balaram, M.S.S. Hameed, D.M.K. Afzal, S.S. Hakeem, son of late S.A. Rahim, renowned badminton coach and Dronacharya S.M. Arif, former SAI boxing coach Emani Chiranjeevi, hockey Olympians N. Mukesh Kumar and Edwards Alloysius, former India football captain Victor Amalraj, Mohd Habib, Shabbir Ali, rowing coach and Dronacharya Ismail Baig, Arjuna Awardee Mir Khasim Ali.

Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary to Telangana Government, was the chief guest.

To inspire youth

Kailash Nath Yadav, MD of Ethic Sports Foundation, said they hosted the event to inspire youth by showcasing the diverse nature of sports in Hyderabad along with highlighting the efforts of the greats like S.A. Rahim.