TNSA Website Launched, GCM to Start 5 June
Vetran footballers Thupten Choephel, Lobsang Tenzin, and TNSA secretary Kalsang Dhondup |
Dharamsala, 14 May: The Tibetan National Sports Association (TNSA) today launched its website www.tnsa.info at a press conference here. Two veteran Tibetan footballers Mr. Lobsang Tenzin and Mr. Thupten Choephel who had played for their clubs in pre1959 Lhasa, were invited by the association to inaugurate the website.
The 11th Gyalyum Chemo Memorial Gold Cup (GCMGC), the most coveted football tournament of the exile Tibetan community, will open from 5 to 12 June at the TCV School ground, Dharamsala, TNSA declared today at the press conference.
After series of qualifying rounds, eight teams have qualified for the tournament. They are Chauntra-Bir Combined, Southern Stars (Mysore District), Dharamsala, Doon Valley, Special Frontier Force Est. 22, Delhi, Kathmandu and Pokhara.
Dharamsala’s team which lost to Pokhara in the last year’s final did not qualify for the tournament after the two leg qualifying round played against Chauntra-Bir Combined at Dharamsala and Bir respectively. But Dharamsala’s luck favoured them as the north eastern zone’s (Gangtok-Kalimpong-Darjeeling) team withdrew their participation as the regional chapters of Tibetan youth congress in these areas were engrossed in staging parallel hunger strikes to the TYC’s New York hunger strike.
” We received a letter from them saying that they could not send their team to play in this tournament, and we had earlier told the two teams (Dharamsala and Chauntra-Bir Combined) teams before the second leg qualifying match, that the loser will be considered if a withdrawal of the north eastern zone’s (Gangtok-Kalimpong – Darjeeling) team is given in writing”, said Mr. Kalsang Dhondup, Executive Secretary of TNSA.