District Sports Office, Kendrapara

Introduction

               After the creation of the new District, the district sports office  is functioning in the district in order to develop sports activities & to create  sports awareness among the youngsters. During the last few years, numbers of players have been produced in the sports discipline of Football, Volleyball, Basketball, Cricket & Badminton who have successfully performed at the state, national & international level & brought glory for the district.

 Infrastructure 

                To provide better facility to the players, a district level stadium at SARANGA, Kendrapara, is under construction. It  is expected that the stadium will be functional  by the year 2006. Provisions have been made for practice of Athletics, Basketball, Football, Volleyball, Kabadi etc in the stadium. The completion of the stadium will definitely fulfill the long standing demands of the sports persons of the district. Apart from that, to meet the basic needs of the rural sports talents at the school & college level, one time financial assistance have been provided  under the Govt. of India , Dept. of Sports & Youth Affairs scheme, to create sports infrastructure  in the district.
 

                To popularize sports & games, different sports associations like, district athletic association, district cricket association, district badminton association & district women’s football association are functioning in the district. The associations are working hard to bring out the hidden talents of the district & are organizing competitions & coaching camps regularly to promote the players.

                There are many talented & quality players in the district. To encourage  & to spot out the real talents at the grass root  stage , various tournaments in football, volleyball, badminton etc, are organized in the district with the help of leading sports clubs& association, with the aim to develop skill & competitive spirit among those players.

Role of District Sports Office

                               The district sports office  is working dedicatedly for the development of sports & games in the district. Apart from organizing different sports & youth activities programs, the office is always on a move to create & develop a better sports atmosphere in the district, by motivating the sports clubs, associations & leading N.G.Os.

Every year the following programs are conducted successfully by the district sports office.

A.  Rural  sports tournament

        To facilitate the rural boys & girls to involve themselves in different sports activities, every year rural sports tournament is organized in the district for players under the age of 16yrs. The other aim of this tournament is to locate the hidden talents & to give them ample scope to prove themselves in the field of sports. Kendrapara district has always shown good results at the state level rural sports competition especially in Volleyball in which the boys & girls have given significant performances & have been representing the Orissa state in the national rural sports tournament for years together.

B.   Women’s Sports Festival 

        To encourage & attract the women to different sports & games, every year a sports festival/ competition for the women players only is organized at the district level. Players so selected at the district level , then participate in the state women’s sports festival. Kendrapara district has got a good track record in Volleyball  in which every year 3-5 players are representing the
state  in the national women’s sports festival.

C.   Scouting of talents for admission in sports hostels 

       Every year scouting of talents/ students within the age group of 10—14 years, is organized at the block & district level , in order to select students for the state sports hostels. At present a good number of students of this district  are  now residing in different sports hostels & undergoing training in a systematic & scientific way. During the year 2006-07, five boys & girls of  Kendrapara have been selected to take admission in the state sports hostels in the sports discipline of  Football, volleyball & weight lifting. After  the inception of the sports hostels, the standard of sports in the state  has achieved the highest position & many valuable & renowned players have come out successfully & earned name & fame  in the field.

D. Youth Festival

     Every year the district sports office organize a district level youth festival for youths within the age group of 15-35years with the aim to provide the talented artists a scope to show their performances t the district & state level. The competition is organized in the category of Classical dance & song, Folk dance & song, instruments like, Tabla, Mridangam, Flute, Harmonium, Guitar, Sitar, Veena etc, then elocution in Hindi or English, one act play. From the district festival youths are selected to participate in the state youth festival. Our youths have always   given impressive performances at the state  and national  level . Shri    Sanjeev  Mohapatra of this district  had secured  first position  in elocution (extempore) consecutively for two years & represented the state twice in the national youth festival. During the year 2005-06, the district secured 2nd position in the one act play category , at the state youth festival.

             Apart from  organising the  routine programs, the district sports office , also, organizes different sports & youth activities programs , with the help of  sports associations & N.G.Os. the programs are:--  

1.Inter school  cricket tournament at the district level.
2.Annual district athletic meet, football & volleyball tournament.
3.Inter school sports competition among the primary & high school students.

Eminent personalities involved in sports

The first name  in this field which comes into mind is Md. Massiur Jamma, who bears the record of being the first ever volleyball player of the state to represent the country in the Asian Volleyball championship & SAF games. He played for INDIA at the junior & senior level.

The next person is a girl who hails from a place & background where one cannot think of doing any sports. The girl is still not very popular in the district but very renowned at the state & national level. She has earned name in a rare sports like ROWING (water sports).  She is the first girl of the state  to win gold medals at the junior & senior nationals. She  represented the country  in the Asian rowing championship & other international events. She is also the first girl of the country to win a medal in the international rowing championship which she secured during the year 2005-06.She is now a permanent member of the Indian rowing squad. She is Miss Pravasini Dwivedi  of the village Ratadia khandasahi,Chandol of Derabish block.

                     In the year 2002, ten girls of this district were selected to remain in the sports hostel, Bhubaneswar, in the newly introduced discipline Football for women. Among  them , five girls have made this district & state feel proud, by representing the country in football at the junior & sub-junior Asian women football championship. These girls had started their career in Rajkanika & Aul block, Kendrapara , under the active guidance of Sri Ajay kumar Nayak & Sri Devendra Nath Sharma. The girls are :--

1.	Miss  Sasmita Mallick
2.	Miss Alochana Senapati
3.	Miss Bijaylaxmi Sahoo
4.	Miss  Suprava Samal
5.	Miss Sangita Patra

                Besides these Internationals, many players have represented the Orissa state in various games & sports & earned good name in their respective field.  Some of the respectable names are :--

1.        Sri Sanjay kumar Das  --    State Volleyball player.
2.        Sri Sukanta Choudhury —State Volleyball player.
3.        Md Samsur Rehman  ------ State Volleyball player.
4.        Sri Chittaranjan Rout. ---- State Volleyball player.
5.       Sk. Alizan                    ---  Renowned Football player.

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