Rourkela: Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari Saturday inaugurated the Biju Patnaik Rural Hockey Tournament which will see over 1400 teams from Orissa, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh competing for the title from December 16 to March 17.
Inaugurating the event, organised by former national team captain Dilip Tirkey at the SAIL Hockey Stadium, Ansari said, “hockey is the soul, air and water in these regions. “Hockey is a popular sport in this region and this tournament will help Orissa continue to produce top sportspersons in the future.”
The tournament will take place at 32 venues. Dilip said that a total of 1,458 teams have confirmed their participation. There is no age bar for participants. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Sports Minister Sudam Marandi and Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram were also present during the event. Former Olympians Michael Kindo, Ashok Kumar, AB Subbaiah and Ignace Tirkey were also present, alongside current India defender Birendra Lakra.
Tulasi, Aliva selected
Orissa talents Tulasi Das and Aliva Das have been selected for the national senior training and selection camp at Aurangabad in Maharashtra, December 12-January 12. Selected players will represent India at the forthcoming IInd South Asian Sepak Takraw Championship in Sri Lanka.
KSH, NSH in semis
Keonjhar Sports Hostel (KSH) and Nayagarh Sports Hostel (NSH) won their respective quarterfinal matches to enter the semifinals of the Biju Patnaik Gold Cup Football tournament here Saturday. KSH pipped Bolangir Sports Hostel(BSH) with a solitary goal, while NSH triumphed over United Football Club(UFC) 4-0 via tie-breaker.
Team selected
Orissa State Badminton Association (OSBA) selected a 13-member state squad for the 41st Inter-state and Inter-Zonal and Junior National Badminton Championships to be played under different categories at Udupi, Karnataka, December 11-17.
PNN
