Port Blair, Apr 27: There is no dearth of talents in these Islands. If provided better coaching and equipment, our sportspersons will come out with flying colours in national and international sports arena, said the Lt. Governor, Lt. Gen. (Retd.) A K Singh while speaking at the prize distribution ceremony of the Triathlon competition consisting of swimming, cycling and running, held for men at Port Blair yesterday.
Addressing the gathering, especially the sports lovers present in good numbers at Netaji Stadium, the culmination point for the Triathlon, the Lt Governor firstly complimented the organisers for hosting the event and congratulated the sports enthusiasts for participating in large numbers braving the scorching sun. Moved by the enthusiasm shown by the sportspersons including the senior citizens (participants), the Lt. Governor declared that the Triathlon will be made as an International event by the end of this year.
Turning to sports, the Lt. Governor stated that Sports, Art & Culture Department has a great significance for these Islands. A little motivation and training to the sportspersons will bring desired results in sports, the Lt. Governor added. The Lt. Governor also expressed happiness over the medal winning performances by some sportspersons from these Islands in cycling and water sports events at National and International competitions. He further directed the Sports Department to work in a focused manner to achieve desired results in other sports disciplines also.
The Lt. Governor also praised the prize winning performance of the Police Team in the tug of war competition and to the senior participants of the Triathlon for their never-say-die attitude.
The Lt. Governor gave away prizes to the winners and runner up participants of the Triathlon. He also gave away prizes for on the spot painting and tug of war competitions at the backdrop of the Triathlon event. Mr. S N Sree Prakash, the first prize winner of the painting competition, as a token of love, handed over his painting created on triathlon theme to the Lt. Governor.
In the open category, Mr. H.K. Raut, (TA) emerged victorious, while Mr. Monotosh Roy, (TA) and Mr. Dilli Rao, (TA) bagged the second and third positions respectively. The three winners were felicitated by the Lt. Governor with certificate and cash award of Rs. 30,000/- , Rs. 25,000/-, Rs. 15,000/- respectively.
In the Islander category, (local participants), Mr. Suranjan Mallick (45:10:06) walked away with the first position with a cash award of Rs. 15,000/-, while Mr. Naresh Kujur (48:09:98) bagged the second position with a cash award of Rs. 12,000/- and Mr. Liton Biswas (51:46:35) secured the third position with a cash award of Rs. 8,000/-. The Lt Governor handed over the cash award and certificates to them as well.
The participants who had successfully completed the events were also felicitated with certificates and cash award of Rs. 1000/- each.
Meanwhile, to encourage the participants and spectators, a tug of war and spot painting by local artists were organized at the culminating point at Netaji Stadium. Artist Mr. S.N. Sree Prakash secured the first prize with a cash award of Rs. 5000/-, Mr. Parmeshwar Rao received the second prize with a cash award of Rs. 3000/- and Mr. Mohan Rao bagged the third position with a cash award of Rs. 2000/-. The A&N Police team won the Tug of War while the 23 Rajput Battalion team emerged as runner up.
