Excelsior Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 7: Describing the sportspersons as the messengers of peace and harmony, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah advised them to participate in the sports events with sporting spirit to win hearts of the people apart from winning matches and send a message of friendship, love and brotherhood.
Omar said this while declaring open the 61st All India Police Hockey Championship in an impressive, well attended and colourful inaugural function by releasing balloons at KK Hakhu Astroturf Hockey Stadium, here today.
He said, though J&K has hosted many All India Police Championships in the past in the disciplines of golf, tennis etc, yet it is for the first time that J&K is hosting All India Police Hockey Championship.
The Chief Minister further said that it smacks an ecstatic feeling among all of us to organize a tournament in the discipline, which has been the country’s pride for many many years in the past and hoped for the repetition of similar performances by the Indian hockey players once again, adding that India was never ready to lose in this discipline. He, however, was disappointed over the suspension of Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and said that it would prove a stumbling block for promoting sports in the country.
Meanwhile, 550 sportspersons drawn from 25 States/UT’s/Organisations are taking part in this 8-days championship which would culminate on December 14, 2012. The participating states included host Jammu and Kashmir, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, SSB, RPF, Puduchery, Punjab, Odisha, Manipur, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, ITBP, Haryana, Chattisgarh, Chandigarh, CISF, CRPF, Bihar, BSF and Andhra Pradesh.
Prominent among others present on the occasion were Minister for Finance, Abdul Rahim Rather, Minister for Medical Education, Technical Education and Youth Services and Sports, RS Chib, Minister for Higher Education, Abdul Gani Malik, MoS Home Nasir Aslam Wani, legislators Chaman Lal Gupta, Ashwani Kumar, Jahangir Mir and Naresh Kumar Gupta.
Earlier, Director General of Police, Ashok Prasad in his welcome address gave details of the tournament and presented resume of the efforts, Jammu and Kashmir Police Department is putting in, to encourage sportspersons in the State.
Later, Additional Director General of Police, Law and Order, K Rajendra, presented vote of thanks on the occasion.
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