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Sports meet gets under way

BERHAMPUR: The fifty-fourth State school-level sports meet was inaugurated in the city on Tuesday.

This three-day State-level event is being held in the Khallikote autonomous college stadium. The city is hosting this after a gap of almost thirty years. So, there was enthusiasm was high among the school students and teachers about this event.

Union Minister of State for Rural Development Chandrasekhar Sahu took the salute at the march-past and declared the meet open. Deputy director of State School Sports Association Nilamadhav Nanda attended the inaugural function as a guest.

During his speech Mr Nanda said the performance of Orissa school students in national-level sports meets was on a progressive path. In 2007 national school meet, Orissa participants had bagged 53 medals and were in the twelfth position in the medals tally. The year before that they were in the thirteenth position and a year earlier they had secured sixteenth position in the same meet. Mr Sahu said better infrastructure can build better sports persons. He said the extra insfrastructure was being added to the Khallikote college stadium in the city and the Chatrapur stadium in Ganjam district.

A colourful display of cultural events and drills by school students preceded the sporting events. The first day of the meet involved heats for different athletic events. A total of 739 participants and officials from different parts of the State are taking part in this sporting event. They have been provided accommodation at the Queen’s Mission High School, the Giri Road Girls’ High School and the Ramahari Nagar Sishu Mandir School in the city.

The State team for the all-India school athletics meet which is to be held in Cochin from January 7 would be selected from this event in the city. The selected young athletes would take part in an orientation and coaching camp in Bhubaneswar from January 2 to 4 before setting out for Cochin.

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