Mohun Bagan announced that ‘Mohun Bagan Ratna’ will be given to Sourav Ganguly. East Bengal also announced their decision to honour the former India captain. ‘Bharat Gaurab’ will be given to Sourav.
A war of words has started between the fans of the two clubs over honouring Sourav. Mohun Bagan supporters say East Bengal decided after their announcement. Many of East Bengal’s member supporters claim that the club took this decision long ago. The press release issued by the East Bengal club implied the same. There, the WhatsApp chat of red-yellow boss Debvrata Sarkar with Sourav has been revealed. It shows that on June 23, Sourav agreed to take the honour.
Mohun Bagan Day is July 29. On that day, the green -maroon will honour Sourav. After three days, he will be honoured by red and yellow. August 1 is the foundation day of East Bengal Club. On that day, ‘Bharat Gaurav’ honour will be given to Sourav.
East Bengal’s ‘Bharat Gaurav’ honour was earlier won by two cricketers. Kapil Dev was given this honour in 2019. The century-old club was honouring India’s first World Cup-winning captain. In 2022, Jhulan Goswami was awarded ‘Glory of India’. She was the captain of the Indian women’s cricket team. Sourav will be given this honour this year. He is getting this honour as the third cricketer.
Since 2011, ‘Bharat Gaurab’ has been awarded by East Bengal Club. That year, the honour was given to hockey player Leslie Claudius. Ahmed Khan, Arun Ghosh, and Mohammad Habib have received this honour among footballers. East Bengal also honoured renowned sportsmen like Milkha Singh and Dhanraj Pillai.
