JAMMU, Jul 28: The District Youth Services & Sports Office, Jammu, on Tuesday commenced the Inter-School District Level Selection Trials and Tournaments in the disciplines of Gatka, Soft Tennis, Rugby and Girls’ Cricket. The competitions are being conducted in the Under-14, Under-17 and Under-19 age categories for boys and girls, with enthusiastic participation from government and private schools across the district.
More than 500 students took part on the opening day, reflecting the growing enthusiasm for sports among schoolchildren. The selection trials aim to identify talented athletes who will represent District Jammu in the upcoming divisional and Union Territory-level competitions.
The District Youth Services & Sports Officer (DYSSO), Jammu, who attended the event as the Chief Guest, visited all the competition venues and interacted with participants, Physical Education teachers, technical officials and organising staff. Addressing the young athletes, he encouraged them to compete with dedication, discipline and true sportsmanship, stating that such tournaments provide an excellent platform to showcase talent and prepare for higher-level championships.
The DYSSO also reviewed the arrangements at the venues and held discussions with the conveners of the respective disciplines. He issued instructions to ensure transparency in the selection process, strict adherence to competition rules and timely submission of results and reports for the smooth conduct of the tournaments.
The conveners for the various disciplines included Hardav Singh (PEM) for Gatka, Jagjeet Singh (PET) for Hockey, Vishal Malhotra for Soft Tennis, Umashwar Sanyal (PEL) for Rugby and Sandeepan Sharma (PEM) for Girls’ Cricket. The matches were officiated by Hardeep Singh, Gurbachan Singh, Davinder Singh, Amandeep Singh, Joti Sharma, Gourav Sharma, Neeraj Padha, Mandeep Singh, Karanjeet Singh and Kamal Singh.
Appreciating the efforts of the organising committee, conveners, technical officials and Physical Education staff, the DYSSO expressed confidence that the tournaments would help nurture young sporting talent and further strengthen the culture of sports in the district.
In the Under-19 Boys’ Gatka (Fari Stick) event, Samarpreet Singh of Guru Gobind Singh Higher Secondary School secured the first position, followed by Harmanjot Singh of Jammu Sanskrit School in second place and Palkeet Singh of Shiksha Niketan in third.
In the Under-19 Boys’ Gatka (Single Stick) competition, Arshdeep Singh of APS Kaluchak claimed the first position, while Anirudh Singh of Jammu Sanskrit School finished second and Vishavajeet of Government Higher Secondary School, Gandhi Nagar, secured the third position. The district-level selection tournaments will continue over the coming days to finalise teams for the next stage of the competitions.