Celly Dias
One of Uganda’s greatest sportsmen
By Norman Da Costa
Celly was a legend in Uganda and
his impact on the field was immediate and profound. He enjoyed the best of two
worlds – indoors and outdoors - and even his opponents admired him and spoke in
glowing terms of this sportsman. He was a sportsman in the true real sense of
the word. Having met and interviewed some of the greatest sportsmen during my
career in Kenya and later in Canada one thing that struck me about Celly was
that he reminded me of tennis ace Roger Federer - humble and down-to-earth.
Celly, who passed away at
the age of 94, still followed every sport closely and would analyze the
strengths and weaknesses of a batsman or a bowler. This isn’t surprising as
Celly perfected every ball he delivered and every shot he played. “He was a
perfectionist,’’ offered Denis Pereira, a teammate of Celly’s at the Kampala
Goan Institute and on Uganda’s tennis squad. Another all-round great Charlie de
Souza had nothing but praise for Celly. De Souza was in my estimation the
greatest all-rounder in Uganda cricket that’s until his career and that of
others were cut short by the expulsion of Asians from Uganda by dictator Idi
Amin.
“Celly was a natural at any
sport in took part in,’’ said Charlie. “I marvelled at him on the cricket field
and on the tennis courts where he reigned as the country’s singles champion.”
Tennis ran in the veins of the Dias family. His dad S.P. Dias was the
first Goan to win the Uganda Protectorate Open Singles tennis title in 1935. In
1952 Celly followed in his father’s footsteps and claimed the title.
Celly later turned his attention
indoors where he excelled in darts and billiards, leaving an indelible mark as
well. In his later years, he took up to pickleball to stay fit as he would say.
It wasn’t until he arrived in
Canada did Celly turn his attention to darts and he hit the bull’s eye
immediately. He started pocketing one trophy after another and one look at his
mantlepiece one would think all this silverware was collected by a team. No, it
was a collection of just one man – Celly. As Edith, his wife of 68 years, would
often remind me that she was the biggest and best silverware he won.
- -
- - - -
One person who charted Celly’s
progress inside the ropes at Kampala’s Nakivubo Stadium and elsewhere was my
friend John Noronha who is a walking encyclopedia on Uganda sports.
Here’s John’s take
on Celly’s exploits in cricket.
“Celly broke on the scene in 1948
and at age 18 was the babe of the team that won the Triangular that year,
playing a crucial unbeaten innings of 21 in that low-scoring match.
Within the next few years,
he became a dominant batsman who picked up runs in the most unconventional and
effortless way. In 1950 in the match that the late Michael Texeira took 10
wickets, the Goans went in to bat chasing a score of 143 in 100 minutes. Celly
opened the batting and took the challenge head-on, scoring 107 runs in 80
minutes and seeing his team to victory. A year later in 1951, opening the
batting for the United Asians against the Uganda Kobs, he pummelled the bowling
for 115 runs before retiring.
For some inexplicable
reason, he was not selected to the Uganda national team until 1960 when he
“earned” his one and only cap in a win over Tanganyika. Numerous times this
talented sportsman bailed the Goans out of extremely awkward situations. In the
1960 quadrangular final against the Asians, Celly came to the wicket with his
team at 106 for six and went on to score an unbeaten 87 and the took three
wickets to lead the Goans to the Shield.
In 1962 another tailender knock
of 95 saw the Goans amass a total of 463 runs to achieve yet another impressive
championship victory over the Asians. He was also part of the
1964 quadrangular[ND1] and
the 1966 Pentangular wins by the Goans. Celly also was a difficult bowler to
play against with his ability to mingle slow medium pace with delicate off-spin
bowling.
“When not spending his time
in cricket “whites” all he did was win the 1953 Uganda tennis singles crown (a
feat his father had done in 1932) and was a top-flight player for the Kampala
Goan tennis team for many years, winning the Uganda doubles crown as well.”
Celly Dias will be remembered for
his excellence on and off the field where he used his creativity and skills to
get to the top. Then he turned his attention indoors and again mastered the
intricacies of each sport to reign supreme. Celly was a legend in Uganda and
the impact he had on any sport he played was profound. He enjoyed the best of
two worlds – indoors and outdoors - and even his opponents had nothing but
admiration for this sportsman. He was a sportsman in the true sense of the
word. Having met and interviewed some of the greatest sportsmen during my
career in Kenya and later in Canada one thing that struck me about Celly was
that he reminded of tennis ace Roger Federer - humble and down-to-earth. Celly
still followed every sport closely and would pinpoint strengths and weaknesses
of a batsman or a bowler. This isn’t surprising as Celly perfected every ball
he delivered or every shot he played. “He was a perfectionist,’’ offered Denis
Pereira, a teammate of Celly’s at the Kampala Goan Institute and on Uganda’s
tennis squad. Another all-round great Charlie de Souza had nothing but praise
for Celly. De Souza was in my estimation the greatest all-rounder in Uganda
cricket that’s until his career and that of others was cut short by the
expulsion of Asians from Uganda by dictator Idi Amin.
“Celly was a natural
at any sport in took part in,’’ said Charlie. “I marvelled at him on the
cricket field and the tennis courts where he reigned as the country’s singles
champion.”
Celly later turned his attention
indoors where he excelled in darts and billiards, leaving an indelible mark as
well. In his later years, he took up pickleball to stay fit as he would say.
It wasn’t until he arrived in Canada did Celly
turn his attention to darts and he hit the bull’s eye immediately. He
immediately started pocketing one trophy after another and one look at his
mantlepiece one would think all this silverware was collected by a team. No, it
was a collection of just one man – Celly. His favourite trophy though was
Edith, his wife of 68 years.
One person who charted Celly’s
progress inside the ropes at Kampala’s Nakivubo stadium and elsewhere was my
friend John Noronha who is a walking encyclopaedia on Uganda sports.
Here’s John’s take on
Celly’s exploits in cricket.
“Celly broke on the scene in 1948
and at age 18 was the babe of the team that won the Triangular that year,
playing a crucial unbeaten innings of 21 in that low-scoring match.
Within the next few years,
he became a dominant batsman who picked up runs in the most unconventional and
effortless way. In 1950 in the match that the late Michael Texeira took 10
wickets, the Goans went in to bat chasing a score of 143 in 100 minutes. Celly
opened the batting and took the challenge head-on, scoring 107 runs in 80
minutes and seeing his team to victory. A year later in 1951, opening the
batting for the United Asians against the Uganda Kobs, he smashed the bowling
for 115 runs before retiring.
For some inexplicable reason, he was not selected to the Uganda national team until 1960 when he “earned” his one and only cap in a win over Tanganyika. Numerous times this talented sportsman bailed the Goans out of extremely awkward situations. In the 1960 quadrangular final against the Asians, Celly came to the wicket with his team at 106 for six and went on to score an unbeaten 87 and the took three wickets to lead the Goans to the Shield victory!
In 1962 another tailender knock
of 95 saw the Goans amass a total of 463 runs to achieve yet another impressive
championship victory over the Asians. He was also part of the
1964 quadrangular and the 1966 Pentangular wins by the Goans. Celly also
was a difficult bowler to play against with his ability to mingle slow medium
pace with delicate off-spin bowling.
“When not spending his time
in cricket “whites” all he did was win the 1953 Uganda tennis singles crown (a
feat his father had done in 1932) and was a top-flight player for the Kampala
Goan tennis team for several years, winning the Uganda doubles crown as well.”
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