NEW DELHI: The success of the 5th AFC Medical Conference can be gauged by the comments of Dato Gurcharan Singh, Chairman, AFC Medical Committee and the Scientific Committee. In an exclusive chat with www.the-aiff.com Dato Guru dubbed the 5th AFC Medical Conference as the “best among the five Medical Conferences so far. EXCERPTS:
In comparison to the four previous Conferences, where does this one stand?
Among all the five AFC Medical Conferences held so far, this was the best and most outstanding in terms of participation, quality of experts and topics delivered. The large audience present at the Closing Ceremony is testimony of the fact and interest level of the Participants. The Conference was organised in a professional manner and what was expected was delivered.
The Conference did suffer initial hiccups with the H1N1 virus having postponed the Event once. How much of a frustration was that?
The postponement did bring about some concerns in terms of financial aspects as well as the availability of the Experts as they had already planned their Calendar.
I had many sleepless nights and stayed worried whether the Speakers would be available and whether the overseas Participants would be able to make it. You can’t ignore the fact that Christmas and the New Year Celebrations are around the corner. Add to that this time of the Year, most of the kids all over have their Examinations scheduled. So I feared that most of the Speakers may not be able to leave their families. My mind was cluttered.
In such a situation how did you manage to pull it off?
I have always had the confidence on India and stayed a firm believer that India would be able to pull it off. The AIFF General Secretary Mr. Kushal Das had similar concerns but his professional attitude, experience and exposure helped us to address all the issues together to make it a grand success.
At the end, I am a relieved man today and this was the most successful AFC Medical Conference ever.
Will India be lucky enough to host such another educational AFC event in the near future?
The Asian Football Confederation is always ready to help any Member Association whenever called upon. This is our responsibility.
There are some big events coming up in India – the AFC U-16 Finals (2016) to be followed by the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup. Emergency Medical services would be a part of it and professional organization of such a Conference gives one the initial push.
Now that you have imparted the Attendees from the Best – what do you expect the Attendees to do when they get back home?
They have gone back with updated knowledge and they should share and disseminate this in their regional areas for the benefit of sports and benefit of Football in particular.
By Nilanjan Datta,
AIFF Media Team
