 |
| Utkal University in Bhubaneswar. Telegraph picture |
Bhubaneswar, Aug. 16: After admissions, it’s now time for some sporting action. Utkal University is gearing up to organise two inter-university events — kho kho (men) and volleyball (women) — for the east zone this year. While the volleyball tournament will commence from September 8, the kho kho championship is scheduled to begin from October 2.
“It is a matter of pride for us to be hosting two sporting events at the university level after a gap of four years. At the moment, we are working on developing necessary infrastructure. We will soon send letters to various universities in the eastern zone, requesting them to participate in these events,” said Jayanta Kumar Parida, secretary of the sports council, Utkal University.
The students are delighted because they will get an opportunity to compete with sporting talents from other universities. “We will learn a lot as sportspersons during the inter-university games. Everybody in the university is enthusiastic about this. If we are able to conduct this tournament successfully, we will get a chance to host similar events in future,” said Sitanshu Behera, a student of Utkal University, Vanivihar.
The sports calendar of the university for this academic session has also been published. It contains the list of events for various colleges affiliated to it.
According to this calendar, the university will organise 23 events at the inter-collegiate level and they are slated to take place between August 25 and January 10.
The inter-college cricket tournament for men will be held from October 17 at five venues. The university will also host similar competitions in badminton, basketball (women), hockey (men), weightlifting and best physique, wrestling, table tennis (men and women) and volleyball (women).
Sambalpur University and Sri Jagannath Sanskrit University, Puri, are also set to host inter-university tournaments.
While Sambalpur University will organise a football tournament for men on September 3, the latter will host a kabaddi competition.
