Khadur Sahib, SGPC academies log win in hockey tourney

Neeraj Bagga

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, November 29

The three-day 13th Sri Guru Hargobind Sahib Junior Gold Cup Hockey Tournament concluded at the Inderbir Memorial Hockey Stadium of Butala village near here today.

Sant Baba Uttam Singh Hockey Academy from Khadur Sahib won the under-17 category (4-0) by defeating Yamunanagar’s Guru Hockey Academy. In the under-14 category, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee’s (SGPC) Hockey Academy from Faridkot defeated Sant Baba Uttam Singh Hockey Academy from Khadur Sahib (3-1).

The meet was organised by the Baba Pallaha Sports Club (BPSC) of the village along with the support from NRIs of the village. The winning teams were awarded with a cash prize of Rs 20,000 in both categories while runner-up teams were awarded with Rs 14,000 each, besides trophies and certificates of participation and medals.

Dilpreet Singh Bal (17) was awarded this year’s Bibi Inderbir Kaur Memorial Award for being a part of the hockey team that had won the Gold Cup in the Junior Hockey Cup held this October in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Olympian (hockey) Gurbaaj Singh, DSP in Jalandhar district, who was the chief guest, while addressing young players and spectators, said: “It is overwhelming to see that some sports clubs are leaving no stone unturned to save and promote the national game of the country. To those teams that could not make it to the finals, I will say that winning and losing is part of life but giving your best shot, matters the most.”

Harpreet Singh Lally, who is one of the coaches of the club and also a commentator during the matches here, said with every passing year, spectators too had been surging who feel such tournaments and clubs play a vital role to keep youngsters connected to sports.

Meanwhile, a 400-m race by elderly men of the village and musical chairs, in which many elderly women also participated, remained a cynosure of all eyes.

Seventy-year-old Dyal Singh, who is also a village granthi at the gurdwara, said: “I have been participating in this race for the past five years and through it I aim to prove that age is just a number.”