U Sharaf Ali, new 'commandant' of Kerala sports council

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After a season of turbulence in the state's sports council, normalcy is slowly showing signs of a return with the government appointing former Indian Footballer and retired police commandant U Sharaf Ali as the president. The council was mired in inefficiency for a long and the government called it time to do a cleansing act. The former president and Olympian Mercy Kuttan quit office with more than one year remaining in service. Along with the president, a retinue of other officials also resigned from the council. The new president of the council will assume office today morning. The standing committee member and the vice president will be nominated soon. It is expected that former boxing champion KC Lekha and footballer CK Vineeth will be included in the list.

The new president U Sharaf Ali knows the intricacies of the milieu after representing the Indian football team for 10 years consecutively. He has represented India 5 times in the Nehru cup, 3 in SAAF, and once in the Asia cup tournament. His illustrated career also comes into the spotlight for sharing the pitch with Indian icons IM Vijayan and CV Pappachan. After retiring from the police department, Sharaf Ali was active on the turf with lessons and training for footballers in the state.