MARGAO
Dempo Sports Club Academy defender Shameek Vas is the only Goan who has been called up for India U-16 national team camp to prepare for AFC U-16 Championship.
The preparatory camp begins on November 30 at Rosary ground, Navelim. Shameek joined the academy in Ella, Old Goa in 2016. The Dempo intern was the member of their U-14 and U-16 teams which won the State titles in 2019-20.
Under the tutelage of technical director Karts Naidoo and head coach Remus Gomes, Shameek honed his skills before he got his national break in the SAFF U-15 Championship in Kalyani, West Bengal in 2019. He also represented India in AFC U-16 Championship.
Patwin Fizardo, the general secretary of Dempo Sports Club, congratulated Shameek on making it to the camp. “I’m overwhelmed to hear that Shameek has been picked for the camp. He is a very bright prospect,” Fizardo said.
Shrinivas Dempo, president of Dempo SC said Shameek's call-up shows his club's youth development programme is showing good results.
“I strongly believe that a strong focus on grassroots and youth development is the key to bring about a sustainable impact on our nation's growth in the long run. The success of Shameek makes my belief even stronger in the youth development programme at Dempo SC. He is from our first batch at the residential academy and this instils faith that more players from Dempo will soon follow him,” Dempo said.
Anju Turambekar, the Dempo technical director, said, “Shameek has indeed set high standards by displaying great feats on and off the field. He has made us proud and invigorated us to work harder and push our boundaries.”
