Jammu, April 17 (Scoop News) –Appreciating the progress registered in promotion of sports in recent years across the State, Provincial President National Conference has called for focused attention towards rural sports, which he regretted were not getting the attention they deserve.
“Like other parts of the country, Jammu and Kashmir too has a high tradition of organizing rural oriented sports on special occasions, coinciding various festivals”, he said, however, observing the trend was dwindling fast.
Mr Rana was speaking at an awards giving ceremony after the final of wrestling completion 29th Vishal Dangal Saloora Kesri at Jhajjar Kotli. Several top names in the field of wrestling from Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh besides Jammu and Kashmir participated in the event that attracted thousands of people from the adjoining areas to witness the competition.
Pahalwan Binyia of Jammu and Kashmir Police won the title by defeating RC Singh of Haryana Police.
The event was organised by Dangal Committee Saloora Jhajjar Kotli under the patronage of Rajinder Kumar. Shiv Kumar Sharma, President Jammu and Kashmir Wrestling Association was also present on the occasion.
The Provincial President said the mere presence of reputed and eminent wrestles of North India was a source of inspiration for budding wrestlers of the region. “I hope they will learn from the veterans in the field”, he said and exhorted youth to participate in sports in a big way along side academics.
He said, in an era of competition, the youth cannot afford to remain in the shell of academics alone; they have to be versatile in every field of activity. He referred to the steps initiated by the government for promotion of sports in rural and far off areas. “The idea is to provide larger canvass to the rural youth for demonstrating their talent”, he said, adding that as part of the initiatives of the government every area will have the facility of play-fields.
Mr Rana expressed happiness over the enthusiasm of rural youth in traditional games like Kabadi and wrestling, saying these still retains the sheen of yesteryears. “We have to maintain this momentum by giving fillip to these activities in a big way”, he said and hoped that the rural sportsmen and girls will prove their mettle and make big in various state and national level events.
The Provincial President gave away prizes the winners and runners up besides others for their distinction in the competition.