Srinagar, 5th October(KNB): The Junior National Thang-Ta Championship 2023 concluded today. The event sponsored by the J&K Sports Council was organized by the J&K Thang-Ta Association under the supervision of the Thang-Ta Federation of India.
The advisor to the Lieutenant Governor J&K, Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar was the chief guest on the closing ceremony. The chief guest was flanked by Nuzhat Gull, Secretary Sports Council on the occasion besides other officials and officers from various departments and the Council.
The chief guest lauded the efforts of the J&K Sports Council in hosting the event of such great magnitude and congratulated the organizing committee of the J&K Thang-Ta Association for the successful completion of the championship. He also remarked that such events boost the morale of local athletes paving the way for their improved performance at both national and international platforms.
Among others present at the closing ceremony included H. Prem Kumar Singh, Grand Master of the World Thang-Ta Federation, Sheikh Riyaz Ahmad, Administrative Officer J&K Sports Council, Maqsood Khan, Manager Sports Complex Polo Ground, Mushtaq Zargar, Manager Bakshi Stadium, and Vinod Sharma, Secretary Thang-Ta Federation of India.
The national tournament witnessed the participation of around 530 participants including officials from different parts of the country and as many as twenty-five teams featured in the event.
The Haryana team was declared an overall champion of the event while Manipur and hosts settled for first and second runner-up positions.
The Secretary to the Government, Youth Service and Sports Department Sarmad Hafeez declared the championship open on 3rd October.
The J&K Sports Council has constituted a committee headed by the Divisional Sports Officer (K) to monitor the event and also register all the participants.
Meanwhile, the final of the 3rd edition of the Shri Hargobind Sahib Tournament was played at the Hockey Astro-turf Srinagar featuring twenty teams from across the union territory of J&K.
The high voltage final went into the kitty of the J&K Police team who defeated their opponents by a margin of 3:0. Gagandeep for his all-round show was adjudged as player of the match.
The former international player, team India captain, and Padmashree awardee Zaffar Iqbal was the chief guest on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, the chief guest expressed his satisfaction over the newly laid Hockey infrastructure and said that onus has now shifted to the players to make maximum use of the venue and improve their skills to go further up in the game. He said that with facilities in place, “I am sure that soon we will have players from J&K making it to the senior national hockey team and performing at the international level.”
The chief guest also distributed awards among the winner, runner-up, and other participants in the tournament.(KNB)
2023-10-06