Santhal Pargana became champion, Kerala was runner-up and Jharkhand was first runner-up

The 24th National Vanvasi Krida Competition being held in the capital Raipur concluded today. During the closing ceremony, in the final match of football, Santhal Pargana won the champion trophy by defeating Kerala by four goals to one in penalty shoot. Kerala team remained runner-up while Jharkhand team secured third position. In the archery competition, boy archers from eastern Uttar Pradesh and girls from Karnataka dominated. In this entire competition, about 600 tribal boys and girls participated in the games of football and archery. Tribal players from about 30 states of the whole country including Andaman, Nicobar participated in this competition. A team of players from the neighboring country Nepal also participated in the archery competition. Forest Minister of Chhattisgarh and Chairman of the Welcome Committee Mr. Kedar Kashyap and Sports and Youth Welfare Minister Mr. Tankaram Verma reached Kota Stadium and encouraged the players. They introduced themselves to all the players and encouraged everyone to show excellent game. In the closing ceremony, National President of All India Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram Mr. Satyendra Singh, All India Sports Head Mr. Phool Singh Lepcha, National General Secretary Yogesh Bapat, Chhattisgarh State President Mr. Umesh Kachhap and Organization Minister Mr. Ramnath Kashyap, Secretary Mr. Anurag Jain and Secretary of Welcome Committee Mr. Amar Bansal, Regional Organization Minister Mr. Praveen Dholke, Co-Organization Minister Mr. Subhash Badole, Physical Education Department Head of Pt. Ravishankar Shukla University Professor Rajiv Chaudhary, Vanvasi Vikas Samiti Mahanagar Raipur President Mr. Ravi Goyal and Secretary Mr. Rajiv Sharma along with Co-Sports Head Mr. Pankaj Singh, Mrs. Sangeeta Choubey, Dr. Vijay Sandilya, Dr. Ashutosh Sandilya, Dr. Meena Murmu, Mr. Tishen Bhagat, Mr. Gopal Viyani were also present.

This is probably the world’s largest competition of tribal players. Addressing the closing ceremony of this 24th National Vanvasi Sports Competition organized by All India Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, National Organization Minister Shri Atul Jog said that this competition is being organized continuously since 1991 and this competition is the world’s largest competition with the participation of purely tribal players. Shri Jog also told that earlier in the competition held in Bhopal, 316 tribal archers had participated only in the archery competition and had registered their name in the Golden Book of World Records. He said that this event is not limited to winning medals or playing sports but this event is going to awaken the feeling of national unity and the feeling of all of us being one among the players. He urged the players to always work hard, stay connected with sports and practice continuously so that in the coming days the country’s name can be glorified at the national and international level.

Sports has no language, no boundaries, only talent is the identity – National Vice President of Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram HK Nagu also addressed the closing ceremony. Encouraging the players, he said that sports have no language, no boundaries. Sports talent is the identity of the player. Mr. Nagu said that along with physical health, sports also prepare us for the struggle of life. He also informed about the efforts being made by Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram to enhance the talent of tribal players and to give them national and international recognition. Mr. Nagu congratulated all the winners.

22 football matches, 122 goals, 9 matches result by tie breaker or penalty shoot – Tribal football players showed their talent in the 24th National Vanvasi Sports Competition. In the entire competition, 22 football matches were played at Kota Stadium and University Sports Ground. Tribal players displayed their sports talent by scoring 122 goals in these matches. The dedication of the players towards the game and their skill is proved by the fact that in the entire competition, the result of 9 matches was decided by tie breaker or penalty shoot. The football players displayed their talents one after the other. In the end, Santhal Pargana won the Champions Trophy and Kerala was the runner-up. Santhal Pargana’s goalkeeper Vinay Kundu got the medal of the best goalkeeper by saving 4 goals in the penalty shoot in the final match, while Santhal Pargana’s player Vimal Marandi was the man of the tournament. In the final match, Kerala’s player Abhinand was declared the man of the match.