Excelsior Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 17: District Udhampur claimed twin handball titles in the Divisional Level Inter-District Handball Tournament, which concluded at Handball Ground Police Lines, Gandhi Nagar, here today.
Over 300 boys and girls drawn from various districts of Jammu division participated in this tournament, which was organized by the Department of Youth Services and Sports under the overall supervision of Ashok Kumar, Deputy Director Youth Services and Sports, Jammu.
DIG Armed, Jonny Williams was the chief guest in the valedictory function, which among others was attended by Wing Commander (retd) MM Joshi, State Commissioner, Bharat Scouts and Guides, ID Soni, Joint Commissioner Guides, Prabha Jain, Dr Gurcharan Singh and handball coach Vivek Khajuria.
Speaking on the occasion, Jonny Williams, who himself was an outstanding sportsperson, while encouraging the players said that winning and losing is a part of the game and in defeat lies the success as it is the loss which make the sportspersons to work harder and apply themselves up to the maximum level. He lavished praise for the organizers for holding the mega event the smooth conduct of which smacked an ecstatic feeling in every one’s mind.
Ashok Kumar while addressing the gathering said though there has been a sea change in graph of sports in the State of Jammu and Kashmir from last three years, yet lot of hard work is needed to blossom at the highest level.
Earlier, in Under-19 boys final, Udhampur outplayed Kathua in a well fought contest by a narrow margin of 2 goals (14-12) to lift the title trophy. However, at half time it was (7-6) in favour of Kathua. Amit Choudhary was the star performer for Udhampur, who scored 6 splendid goals, while Naman and Akhil Sharma also netted 3 goals each. For Kathua, Francis played a brilliant game and netted maximum 7 goals.
Meanwhile, in Under-14 boys, Jammu defeated Doda by a margin of 2 goals (10-8) and lifted the trophy. Rajan Kalra and Rahat Malhotra scored 3 goals each for Jammu, while Mehran netted 3 goals for Doda.
In Under-14 girls, Jammu thrashed Poonch by six goals to one (6-1) to lift the title. Reea Sagar scored superb 4 goals, while Manvi Singh pelted 2 goals. For Poonch, Rukhsana Kousar scored the lone goal.
Udhampur defeated Jammu by a margin of 9 goals to claim Under-17 boys title. Ayush scored fabulous 6 goals for Udhampur and Rahul netted 4, while goalkeeper Sangram Singh displayed superb skill. For Jammu, Honey Gupta scored 5 goals and Akshit netted 2 goals.
The Under-17 girls handball title went to District Doda, defeating Jammu by ten goals to nil (10-0). Kajal Devi was the star performer for Doda who scored superb 5 goals.
Prominent among others present on the valedictory function were ZPEO’s Jeet Singh, convener of the event, Kanchan Bala, Sarita Pandha, Pushpa Sharma, Manorama Sharma and Veer Ji Bhat.
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