Baramulla, June 24: Prof Showkat Ali Stadium in Baramulla remained abuzz with the sports activities with inauguration of the twin football tournaments organized by the 53 Battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on Monday.
The twin football tournament includes inter college open category tournament which has been organised in the memory of Shaheed Pankaj Tripathi of 53BN. Another under-19 tournament has been named as Rising Star football tournament.
Both the tournaments were inaugurated on Monday by Commanding Officer 53BN CRPF Sanjeev Kumar along with Vice Principal Government Degree College Baramulla Prof. Tariq Ahmad Chalkoo and second-in-command 53Bn CRPF, Prem Pratap Singh.
The inter college football tournament was inaugurated in the morning while the under-19 football tournament was inaugurated in the afternoon.
The inaugural match of the inter college tournament was played between Government Degree College (GDC) Baramull and GDC Sopore in which the former defeated the opponent team by 6-2. The winning team maintained its dominance in the match from the early minutes and scored two goals in the initial minutes of the game. They maintained the upper hand throughout the match and scored 6 six goals.
In the second match played between GDC Kupwara and GDC Pattan, the latter won the match by 2-0.
The tournament has been organized with an aim to foster community engagement and promote sports among the youth. The inaugural matches witnessed intense competition and impressive display of skills from players of the participating teams.
In the under-19 football tournament, the inaugural match was played between the team of higher secondary school Hadipora and Sanctorum Public School Sopore in which the latter defeated the opponent team by 1-0.
During the inaugural ceremony, CO 53 BN Sanjeev Kumar in his address to the teams said that Sports has a transformative power in building character, fostering unity, and shaping future leaders.
“This tournament is not just about winning but it is about learning the values of resilience and teamwork. The teams should play with passion, integrity. Every match should be taken as an opportunity to grow and excel,” he said.
Prof. Tariq Ahmad Chalkoo also spoke at the inaugural ceremony and encouraged the participating teams for showcasing their talent in the matches.