MARGAO
Sports administrators and former players across sports paid rich tributes to Roque Dias, the former executive director of the Sports Authority of India (SAI), who passed away early Sunday morning.
A former badminton player, who represented Goa at the Nationals from 1975 to 1982, Dias was hailed as "a visionary and an inspiration to many in the world of sports" by Goa Badminton Association secretary Sandeep Heble.
"Roque Dias will always be remembered for his instrumental role in paving the way for India's participation in the Deaflympics at Sofia, Bulgaria, after the athletes were left to fend for themselves following bitter infighting between two rival factions. His exceptional role as a sports administrator cannot be overstated," Heble said. "In 2011, he drafted and implemented a visionary scheme aimed at preparing Indian teams for continuous training leading up to the 2020 Olympics after interacting with the world's best sports scientists at a conference in the UK. His scheme was endorsed by sports federations and eminent sportspersons and India earned an unprecedented 41 quotas for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, with 15 of those coming from the shooting discipline. Roque's pioneering efforts played a pivotal role in India achieving excellence in sports, and his contribution will forever be remembered."
Goa Football Association president Dr Caitano Fernandes said, "Everyone in Goan sports is extremely saddened on hearing about the passing away of Roque Dias. My condolences to his family. May his soul rest in peace."
"I have lost one of my best friends. He was very helpful and energetic. He will always be remembered," said Anil Kamat, assistant secretary of the All India Football Federation.
Former executive director of Sports Authority of Goa, Elvis Gomes remembered the contributions of the veteran sports administrator. "He was a great help when he was in SAI and I was in SAG. He was a dedicated sports administrator and would have contributed much more had his services been utilised by Goa in some capacity post his retirement from SAI," Gomes said.
"Goa will miss the expertise of a good administrator during the upcoming National Games in the State," said Kennedy D'Silva, president of Compassion FC.
