COVER DRIVE: A match in progress during the second DRM Cup cricket tournament at Railway Stadium in Vijayawada on Thursday. — PHOTO: CH. VIJAYA BHASKAR

VIJAYAWADA: `Ek shandhar chakka,' `a fabulous cover drive.' Narrations, both in Hindi and English, by the effervescent Sk. Karimullah, a technician with the Electrical Loco Shed, who donned the role of a commentator, enlivened the proceedings at the Railway Stadium.

The stadium, amid wild cheers and appreciative claps from the motley crowd, is witnessing the second Divisional Railway Manager inter-department cricket tournament, in which as many as 13 teams from various departments are taking part.

Sporting talent

"The idea to stage a tournament like this is to encourage the sporting talent among the railway employees in our division. The cup was introduced in 2005 by Divisional Railway Manager J. N. Jagannath, who is also president of SCR Sports Association (Vijayawada Division) and all the departments are taking part with keen interest," says Arjun Rao, Personnel Welfare Inspector (sports).

The efforts of the association paid rich dividends as many talented cricketers from Vijayawada Division represented South Central Railway team in the inter-divisional tournaments and won laurels for the team. "All-rounders China Masthan, Srikanth, batsmen Ishak Paul, Sridhar are some of the players who had put up exemplary performances in the past. In fact, Vijayawada Division reached the semi-finals in the inter-division cricket tournament in 2005 and took the third place," Mr. Rao said.

Positive sign

The heartening factor is more than the sports appointees, service employees are showing more interest in showcasing their prowess on the field. "In an effort to encourage the successful sportsmen, our association honours them with cash awards," he added.

The players to stay fit and to hone their skills practice at the Railway Stadium every day and during the crucial tournaments, they practise at Indira Gandhi Municipal Stadium where better facilities are available. The sports association is encouraging employees to take up other sports such as kabaddi, weightlifting, ball badminton, volleyball and swimming. In fact, the association played a stellar role in shaping the international swimming career of physically challenged swimmer Tirumali Kumar, a commercial department employee, who incidentally is at Melbourne representing India in the Commonwealth Games.

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