HT Correspondent
KOKRAJHAR, Oct 11: The six-day Intra Regional Sports Meet- IRSM of Eastern Region-II (Football) 2023 got underway at the NTPC Bongaigaon’s Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Stadium Salakati here on Tuesday.
Business Unit Head, NTPC Bongaigaon Karunakar Das inaugurated the event in which five teams of the region participated comprising NTPC Bongaigaon, Darlipali, Talcher Thermal and Talcher Kaniha from Odisha and North Karanpura from Jharkhand.
Speaking on the occasion, Das said that the main aim of the sporting event has been to promote the culture of togetherness, camaraderie, and team spirit among the employees. Karunakar Das added that IRSM has been a powerful tool which embodies and empowers us to be better professionals and more importantly a better human being, he added.
The inaugural event saw march past by all the teams and their contingent and a spectacular torch lighting ceremony in which the captain of the host team Nabajit Saikia, Captain, NTPC Bongaigaon team along with captains of all the participating five teams lit the ceremonial torch. The event also saw the release of a mascot during the event named “Puhor” meaning light in english which depicted the famous one horned rhinoceros of the state.
The winning trophy was also unveiled during the event. Later, a fair play pledge and a fitness pledge was also administered during the event by Das. In the inaugural program, school kids welcomed the teams and a colorful traditional Bagurumba dance, a Wushu performance by SAI Kokrajhar was performed by the local dance troop of the district.
The first match was played between NTPC Bongaigaon and NTPC North Karanpura in which the host team defeated North Karanpura 2-0 and the second match between Talcher Kaniha and Talcher Thermal saw the former defeating the latter by 7-0. The events will be played in round robin format among the teams.
The event saw the presence of Induri Reddy, GM (Maintenance), Asutosh Biswas, GM (Operation) and President, Sports Council, NTPC Bongaigaon G.M.Thangzom, Commandant, CISF,NTPC Bongaigaon, Tamal Kanti Paul, General Secy, Sports Council, NTPC Bongaigaon and representatives of union and association, welfare bodies, ladies club and people from the nearby villages.
The finale of the tournament will be played on October 15 amidst a closing ceremony.
