42 teams from across the country including 34 men, 8 women teams participating

Srinagar: The opening ceremony of 71st B.N. Mullik Memorial All India Police Football Championship was held at Bakshi Stadium, Srinagar on Sunday. The event was declared open jointly by Director General of Police, J&K Shri Dilbag Singh and Director IB, New Delhi Shri Tapan Kumar Deka who is also the Chairman of All India Police Sports Control Board, New Delhi.

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, DDC Chairperson Aftab Malik also graced the occasion.

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 All India Police Sports Control Board organises 40 events in 18 clusters across the country in a year in which 13000 Policemen sportspersons participate.

“It is a matter of great satisfaction that 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,” he said.

Paying tribute to the 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. “J&K Police has remained on the forefront in protecting the sovereignty and integrity of the country. He said that this platform provides opportunities to different forces to interact, to share experiences and to strengthen personal as well as professional bonding. He advised participants to play the game with sportsman spirit and wished them good luck,” he said.

DGP 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 organised 14 events of this stature and this is the third occasion that All India Football Championship is being hosted by JK Police and 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.

“J&K is progressing towards peace and prosperity adding that youth of JK has rejected the path of “goli and grenade” and are overwhelmingly participating in positive activities like sports and other cultural activities,” he said. He was, however, quick in cautioning the youth about the “conspiracy of anti-peace elements and appealed them to remain beware of these conspirators whose 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 famous in J&K and to promote it further, J&K Police is going to organising a mega sports event every year in Srinagar adding that this year’s championship witnessed 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 organising this event and putting all the arrangements in a flawless manner.

KR Desk