Barnala-In a significant initiative to provide greater opportunities to the youth of Barnala in sports and promote a sporting culture, Sangrur Lok Sabha MP S. Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer today launched the Barnala Champion Cup.
Indian hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh, Olympian Avneet Kaur Sidhu, Lakhwinder Singh Gill, father of Indian cricket captain Shubman Gill, Deputy Commissioner Harpreet Singh, SSP Mohammad Sarfaraz Alam, and personalities from the music and film industry, including Karamjit Anmol, Jagjeet Sandhu, Ninja, Kulwinder Billa and Babbal Rai, attended the event.
Addressing the inaugural ceremony of the Barnala Champion Cup, MP Meet Hayer said the objective of the cricket league was to encourage young people to participate in sports, identify and nurture their talent and keep them away from social evils such as drug abuse by connecting them with sports grounds.
He said prizes and grants worth lakhs of rupees would be distributed during the tournament. The first prize would be Rs 3 lakh, the second prize Rs 1.5 lakh, the third prize Rs 1 lakh, and the fourth prize Rs 51, 000.
In addition, a grant of Rs 11 lakh would be provided to the ward or gram panchayat associated with the victorious team, while the ward or Gram Panchayat of the runner-up team would receive a grant of Rs 6 lakh from the MP Local Area Development (MPLAD) Fund.
He said nearly 90 teams representing wards and villages of the Barnala constituency were participating in the cricket league. The matches were being held at four sports grounds in the constituency: Baba Kala Mehar Stadium in Barnala, the sports ground at Karamgarh, the sports ground at Dangarh and the sports ground at Khuddi Kalan.
On the occasion, Indian hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh encouraged the participating players and laid emphasis on importance of discipline in sports. He further said that while the Punjab Government was making concerted efforts to protect young people from the menace of drug abuse, everyone also had a responsibility to look after their friends and ensure that they did not fall into bad company.
Olympian Avneet Kaur Sidhu specifically thanked MP Meet Hayer for organising the Barnala Champion Cup. She said that such an environment could be created by a youth leader. She added that music and sports went hand in hand, as music helped boost the enthusiasm of players during sporting events. Towards the end of her address, she appealed to the government to organise shooting competitions in the future, on the lines of competitions held in other sports.
Lakhwinder Singh Gill emphasised the important role parents play in encouraging children to take up sports.
Personalities from the music and film industry, including Karamjit Anmol, Jagjeet Sandhu, Ninja, Kulwinder Billa and Babbal Rai, also shared their views to motivate the players. They enthralled the players and spectators by singing popular lines from their hit songs. They also appreciated the efforts being made by the Punjab Government to connect people with sports.
Among others present on the occasion were Mayor Hasanpreet Bhardwaj, constituency in-charge Harinder Dhaliwal, Improvement Trust Chairman Ram Tirath Manna, Barnala Market Committee Chairman Jaswinder Singh Sanghera, Chairman Market Committee Dhanaula Gurjot Singh Bhathlan, Chairman Block Samiti Jagdev Mann and Member District Planning Board Ishwinder Singh Jandu.