Port Blair, Jan 16: On 14th January 2023 with an aim to infuse sportsmanship, camaraderie and brotherhood among the local youth & with the tagline “Say Yes To Cricket & No To Drugs”, the “Ek Nazar SHG” & “NS Sporting Club” in collaboration with Gram Panchayat Mithakhari at Muslimbasti Flood Light Playground organized an Open to All T10 Night Cricket Tournament in the name of “CHALLENGER’S TROPHY 2k23”.
Shri. Tej Bhadur, Superintendent Engineer APWD declared the tournament open by hoisting the flag of the tournament as a Chief Guest in presence of Guests of Honours Shri. Gautam Sarkar, Executive Engineer E&M APWD, Shri. Subba Raj, Executive Engineer RCD APWD, & Shri. Pradeep Sarkar, Executive Engineer ZPSA.
The occasion was also graced by the PRI’s of Gram Panchayat Mithakhari, other nearby Panchayats, Assistant Engineers and Junior Engineers of APWD, PRI and ZP members.
Shri. Mohd Safiq, Pradhan Gram Panchayat Mithakhari welcomed the gathering and expressed the heartfelt thanks to Shri. Kuldeep Rai Sharma, Hon’ble Member of Parliament A&N Islands for giving such a beneficial asset like Permanent Flood Light under MPLAD at Muslimbasti Playground under Gram Panchayat Mithakhari for encouraging the youths towards sports activities. He also expressed his gratitude towards APWD for timely completion of the work. He also admired the organizing committee for organizing such a mega tournament in a grand manner with the tagline of “Say Yes to Cricket & No To Drugs” which is really a need of hour in today’s time.
The Opening Ceremony generated immense enthusiasm among the locals. Overall, 35 teams from different parts of Islands are participating in the tournament. “The pleasant evening felt warmer and upheat than usual courtesy the bonhomie and cheerful milieu at the ground”, the public opined. The intense cricketing duels and contests between bat and ball would inevitably entice to draw large crowds to the field in all the league matches. Youth of Ograbraj have managed and excelled in this sport mainly due to their passion and dedication towards cricket.
The tournament provides a perfect platform to the local youth to showcase their performance and hone their skills. The main aim of the tournament is to inspire the youth participation towards the sports instead of other abusive activities like drugs and all in the region.
It is pertinent to mention that the Youths of Ograbraj and Muslimbasti has been organizing different sporting events to promote physical activities among youth and divert their energy towards a positive direction. The locals expressed their heartfelt gratitude towards the youths for organizing this event and appealed for more such events in the future to nurture the sporting talent in locals.