*Air Force outplays CRPF by (2-1) in inaugural tie
Excelsior Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 10: Minister for Information Technology, Technical Education and Youth Services and Sports, Imran Raza Ansari declared the 4th All India Police Martyrs Memorial Hockey Tournament open in an impressive, colourful and well attened function at KK Hakhu Astroturf Hockey Stadium, here today.
The Tournament is being organized by J&K Police to pay tributes to all India Police martyrs who sacrificed their lives to uphold the sovereignty and integrity of the nation.
Mr. Ansari who was the chief guest on the occasion inaugurated the Tournament by flicking and scooping a few balls, while Chander Parkash Ganga, Minister for Industries and Commerce was the guest of the honour and Revenue Minister, Javaid Mustafa Mir was also present on the occasion.
Lauding the efforts of the organizers, Mr Ansari said that such events are of paramount importance for promotion of sports culture in the State, adding that J&K Police apart from organizing mega sports events, has always shown valour and courage by being at the forefront in safeguarding the life and property of the State.
The Minister appreciated the role of Jawans and officers of police during militancy in the State, adding that it was because of their sacrificial sprit which has helped the people to live a comfortable life during the turmoil, besides helping in restoring the peace and tranquility in the State.
The Minister announced the enhancement of prize money for the winning team of the Tournament from Rs 50000 to Rs 1,00,000.
He said that the department of Youth Services and Sports would be very liberal in providing support to J&K Police in terms of infrastructural development and other requirements for augmentation of sports culture in the State.
Earlier, the DGP K Rajendra Kumar recalled the services of Police martyrs who had laid down their precious lives for upholding the security and integrity of the country said that organizing the event aimed at memorizing the sacrifices of the Police martyrs is really touching.
Paying rich tributes to the martyrs, the DGP said that their families will continue to remain the members of Police ‘Pariwar’ and it is the duty of the Police to take care of them by all means.
On the occasion, the DGP presented mementos to the chief guest and the other dignitaries.
The Tournament will witness the participation of 200 players of 12 leading hockey teams from across the country including two local teams of JKP and J&K XI. The teams participating in the Tournament include BSF, CRPF, Air force, J&K XI, Namdhari XI, P & S Bank, J&K Police, Dogra XI, New Gurdaspur Club, Core of Signal, CISF and Punjab Police.
Meanwhile, in the inaugural match, Air Force defeated CRPF by two goals to one (2-1) in a close contest. Lovdeep Singh of Air Force scored the first goal for his team in 2nd minute of the game through a penalty corner, while Varender Singh netted the second goal in 58th minute to help his team increase the lead. However, Ignisius Toppo scored the first goal for CRPF in 67th minute and the match ended with the same score. Lovdeep Singh was declared SNTPL man of the match for his excellent performance and was awarded a cash prize of Rs 4,000 on the occasion.
The inaugural function and the match was witnessed by a large gathering comprising of a galaxy of senior civil/police serving and retired officers, apart from large number of sports lovers.
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