Srinagar, Mar 12, KDC: The opening ceremony of the 71st B.N. Mullik Memorial All India Police Football Championship was held at Bakshi Stadium Srinagar today.
The event was declared open jointly by Director General of Police, J&K Dilbag Singh, and Director IB, New Delhi Tapan Kumar Deka who is also the Chairman of All India Police Sports Control Board, New Delhi.
Tapan Kumar Deka addressing the function said that it is indeed a matter of great privilege for him to witness the opening ceremony of the championship, for which he expressed his gratitude to DGP J&K and the Organising Committee for the opportunity. He said that the All India Police Sports Control Board organizes 40 events in 18 clusters across the country in a year in which 13000 Policemen and sportspersons participate adding that it is a matter of great satisfaction that the popularity and participation of these events has witnessed an exponential increase and has provided a platform to excel the performances due to which many Policemen now have won medals at National and International levels.
Paying tribute to B N Mullik, he said that this Football championship is named after him as he was a great dynamic leader and a visionary. Tapan Kumar congratulated J&K Police for conducting the event in a befitting manner. He said that J&K Police has remained on the forefront in protecting the sovereignty and integrity of the country. He said that this platform provides opportunities for different forces to interact, share experiences, and strengthen personal as well as professional bonding. He advised participants to play the game with sportsman spirit and wished them good luck.
DGP J&K, in his address, thanked Director IB for gracing the event and said that his presence in the opening ceremony has been a very encouraging factor for the participants. He said that Jammu and Kashmir Police has so far organized 14 events of this stature and this is the third occasion that the All India Football Championship is being hosted by JK Police before this, J&K Police has also hosted its 49th and 66th editions. He further said that JK Police has organised events in almost every sports category including hockey, water sports, golf, etc.
While welcoming all the participating teams of the event, DGP said that besides fighting for the title, this is a great opportunity for the players to see and enjoy the nature and culture of this beautiful valley. Underling the similarities of football and good policing, DGP said that power, discipline, and control is common and important for both to achieve the desired results.
He said that J&K is progressing towards peace and prosperity adding that the youth of JK has rejected the path of “gold and grenade” and are overwhelmingly participating in positive activities like sports and other cultural activities. He was, however, quick in cautioning the youth about the conspiracy of anti-peace elements and appealed to them to remain beware of these conspirators’ whole only motto is to disturb peace in this beautiful valley.
Singh said Jammu and Kashmir Police has been organising events across Jammu and Kashmir throughout the year and added that all events are witnessing huge participation. He said that a few days ago, a Marathon “Run for Peace” was organised in Jammu in which around 4000 people of different age groups participated and added that events like Pedal for Peace organised in Kashmir also witnessed massive participation. He informed that after the COVID period, around 70 thousand youth have participated in the event organized by J&K Police. He wished good luck to all the participating teams for the event.
In his welcome address ADGP Armed, J&K SJM Gillani welcomed all the dignitaries for gracing the event and said that hosting this prestigious event is a proud moment for J&K Police. He informed that a record number of 42 teams from across the country are participating in the championship which includes 34 men and 8 women teams. He said that football is quite popular in J&K and to promote it further, J&K Police is going to organise a mega sports event every year in Srinagar adding that this year’s championship witnessed the participation of 41 teams.
Later speaking to the media, Director IB, Tapan Kumar Deka, said that teams from all over the country have come to participate in the championship and their spirit is very high. He said that all the visiting teams will come to know about J&K and its lovely people living in a peaceful environment adding that this event will help in spreading the message of peace and love. He said sports is the best way for community building and large-scale participation of youth, like today, will strengthen it further. He congratulated DGP J&K and his team for organizing this event and putting all the arrangements in a flawless manner.
Commandant General HG/CD/SDRF J&K, Dr. B. Srinivas, Spl DG CID J&K, R. R. Swain, Spl DG Crime J&K, A. K. Choudhary, MD Police Housing/DG Prison Deepak Kumar, ADsGP SJM Gillani, Dr SD Singh Jamwal, Mukesh Singh, M.K Sinha, Sunil Kumar and Vijay Kumar, Chief Electoral Officer J&K PK Pole, IGsP Nitish Kumar, B S Tuti, M N Tiwari, Vikramjeet Singh and, Secretary Youth Services & Sport, J&K, Sarmad Hafeez, DIsG Sujit Kumar, Vivek Gupta, Sarah Rizvi, Imtiaz Ismail, Shahid Mehraj, Rakesh Bhalwal, SSP Srinagar, all JKAP/IRP Commandants of Kashmir and a large of sports enthusiast witnessed the opening ceremony function.
Khadi & Village Chairperson Hina Bhat, Mayor SMC Junaid Azam Matoo, and DDC Chairperson Aftab Malik also graced the occasion.
SIX FOOTBALL MATCHES PLAYED ON FIRST DAY OF CHAMPIONSHIP
Srinagar: In the 71st B.N Mullik Memorial All India Police Football Championship which was declared open today by Director Intelligence Bureau Tapan Kumar Deka at Bakshi Stadium Srinagar, six football matches were played at four different venues on the first day of the championship.
The venues include Polo Ground, Synthetic Turf Ground, Bakshi Stadium & Kashmir University.
At Polo Ground, matches were played between Delhi Police Vs Assam Police of Group H & Chandigarh Police Vs RPF of Group B. The match between Delhi & Assam ended 1:1. However, neither of the team scored the winning goal and the match ended in a 1:1 draw. The match between RPF & Chandigarh was won by RPF with a score of 3:0.
At Synthetic Turf Ground, matches were played between Meghalaya Police Vs Tamil Nadu Police of Group E & Rajasthan Police Vs Uttarakhand Police of Group F. The match between Tamil Nadu & Meghalaya ended with a score of 2:0 and was won by Tamil Nadu police. The second match was won by Rajasthan Police beating Uttarakhand with a score of 1:0.
At Bakshi Stadium, a match was played between BSF Vs Haryana Police of Group H. The fans were treated to a delightful game of football with the BSF team scoring five goals and the match ended at 5:0.
At Kashmir University, a match was played between Manipur Police Vs Puducherry Police of Group E. The match ended with a score of 1:0 and was won by Manipur Police.
