*Declares open 62nd National School Games
Excelsior Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 7: The State of Jammu and Kashmir is striving hard to crave a space on the Country’s Sports Map and the efforts are on to make J&K hub of sporting activities in the Country or in other words- the Sports State of India.
This was stated by the Minister for IT, TE and Youth Services and Sports, Moulvi Imran Raza Ansari by declaring open 67nd National School Games Under-17 Girls Cricket and Under-19 Boys and Girls Tennis Cricket in an impressive, well attended and colourful function at MA Stadium, here today.
The Championship is being organized by the Directorate of Youth Services and Sports, under the aegis of School Games Federation of India.
While Mr Ansari was the chief guest on the occasion, the Minister for Social Welfare, ARI & Trainings and Science & Technology, Sajad Gani Lone and the Minister of State for Transport and Youth Services and Sports, Sunil Kumar Sharma as the guests of honour.
Thirty teams drawn from 16 States/UT’s of the Country are taking part in this sporting extravaganza, with 12 in Under-17 Girls Cricket, 12 in Under-19 Boys Tennis Cricket and 6 in Under-19 Girls Tennis Cricket.
The participating States included Andhra Pradesh, Assam, CBSE, Chhattisgarh, DAV College, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, IPSC, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and hosts Jammu and Kashmir.
Mr Ansari lavished praise on the organizers for holding this mega event and said the State Government is committed to improve the standard of sports and games in nooks and corners of the State.
Ansari thanked the participating teams and their players for coming here and making this event a success.
He said that the Government is firm to involve the youth of the State in sports activities to boost their morale. He said various measures are underway to involve more and more youth in to sports, adding that Central Government has sanctioned an amount of Rs 200 crore for revival of sports infrastructure and activities in the State.
The Minster said that the Government has decided to go in for a major upgrade of the existing sports infrastructure to make it at par with the best in the country.
Molvi Ansari said that it is the endeavors of the present Government to organize such events in order to channelize the energy of youth for constructive purposes. He urged the participants to spread the message of peace, communal harmony through the spirit of Sportsmanship.
Minister of State for Youth Services and Sports Sunil Kumar Sharma also spoke on the occasion and highlighted the measures taken for further improvements in the functioning of the YSS department by the present Government. He said Government is committed to upgrade the basic infrastructure for the sports activities.
Mr Sharma said that the talent is present among the youth of the State but need is to channelize it in a proper way. He said Government is committed to provide every help to the talented youth to show their ability.
On the occasion, the Director Youth Services and Sports, Sheikh Fayaz Ahmed briefed about the arrangements made for conducting the event in grand success.
Later, a culture programmes depicting the cultural ethos of various States of the country was presented by the students.
Earlier, a special issue of newsletter on the activities and achievements of the YSS department was released by the Ministers.
Prominent among others present on the occasion were Member Legislative Assembly, Kupwara Bashir Ahmad Dar, Commissioner Secretary, YSS Hilal Ahmad Parray, Secretary Sports Council Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra, Observer, SGFI SL Choudhary, Joint Director YSS Jammu, Madan Lal, Deputy Director YSS Central, Haji Mirza Hussain, Accounts Officer YSS, A R Shigan, representatives of SGFI, large number of sports lovers, school children and prominent citizens.
Meanwhile, in Tennis Cricket Under-19 girls, J&K defeated Punjab by 9 wickets. Punjab scored 35 runs for the loss of 5 wickets in 6 overs, while J&K in reply, managed to score the required runs in 3.2 overs by losing 1 wicket, thus won the match by 9 wickets. Sonamika (18) and Ahliya (14) were the main scorers.
In Tennis Cricket Under-19 Boys, CBSE got better of Gujarat by 27 runs. Prateek was the star performer for CBSE who scalped 5 wickets.
Meanwhile, in Cricket Under-17 Girls at MA Stadium, Gujarat outplayed CBSE.
CBSE set a target of 61 runs, which Gujarat eves chased easily. Ayushi top scored with 36 runs.
In another match of Under-17 Girls Cricket, Telangana defeated Maharashtra by 4 wickets. Maharashtra scored 95 runs, while Telangana chased the target in 19.3 overs by losing 6 wickets.
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