BY TONI RODRIGUES
Margao: For Caitano Clemento, the game of Kho-Kho has been the dawn and the dusk of his life, in a football crazy region disciplines like Kho-Kho has often been given poor attention but the dedication and the perseverance of few individuals like Caitano has succeeded in keeping this modest sport in the limelight.

For any teenager thinking beyond football was something almost unheard of in the seventies but Kho-Kho was the first option for Caitano the decision which he never regretted thereafter. He says, “I still don’t know how I came into it but now I can say my judgment was faultless, I am very much content with what I gained and what I’ve done, it’s been very satisfactory and pleasing. I had realised my ambitions. I may not acquire the glamour but people know me for my achievements and that’s gives me satisfaction.” Caitano who choose Kho-Kho over other sports has become one of the finest exponents of the game in the state.
Caitano’s achievements in the game is nothing short than breathtaking having played for Goa 12 times and captaining the state for 7 nationals besides also playing for Goa twice at the Kabaddi nationals. His name has virtually become synonymous on the Kho-Kho scene and being a strapping muscular lad he was the favorite of reputed coaches like Sujay Kumar, the SAI coach from Karnataka and Maruti Mense, state award winner who was responsible in molding his career. Having played the game at every level, Caitano’s finest moment as a player arrived when he played for India for the SAF Games in 1987 at the Salt Lake stadium in Kolkata. His hunger for the game never died and it was spontaneous to take to coaching. “I always felt that I should be active in spreading the growth of the game. It is a fantastic sport which improves the agility, flexibility, endurance, speed and these qualities are the hallmark of any athlete, if you pose that than you’re bound for glory. It also increases the physical abilities of the players with the movement of every fraction of the body, people may speak or think little about Kho-Kho but it’s the supreme game for any individual to improve on his performance and I can say this without any fear,” expressed Caitano who is one of the senior most coaches in the Sports Authority of Goa (SAG) having been in the job as a Kho-Kho/Kabaddi coach for 21 years. Famous personalities which began their career in Kho-Kho and ended up becoming internationals in other sports includes Claudia Vaz, Kavita Avati (Baseball) and Roque Baretto (Football) while football legend Bruno Coutinho also started his glittering sports career with Kho-Kho.  
Having done his NIS at Patiala in order to acquire more proficiency in the game, Caitano’s coaching stint has always been very hectic with schools, colleges, institutions and clubs requesting for his services and it’s not surprising that Goa’s best known Kho-Kho players like Uday Velip, Sandeep Velip, Khushali Velip, Costa Clemento and Andrew Gomes has all gone through his rigorous and meticulous training. Although he ignored football for Kho-Kho during his school days at Mahila Nutan Margao, the world’s most fascinating and glamorous game has always remained close to his heart and he got an opportunity to contribute something towards football when his local club Margao Sports Club gained promotion to the GFA first division league and he was appointed the physical trainer for the debutant team.
It is now being observed that it is the glamour and lucre that drive youngsters to take up a certain sport, but Caitano Clemento preference for Kho-Kho, a relatively unfamiliar discipline in those times is indeed noteworthy and remarkable.