Bhawanipatna, YNN (Altaf Ali Khan): The 69th State-Level Under-17 Girls’ Football Championship was inaugurated with great enthusiasm on Wednesday at Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium here.
Organised by the Kalahandi District Education Office under the aegis of the State School Sports Association, the four-day tournament (2–5 December) will see talented young footballers from all 30 districts of Odisha compete across three venues: Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium, Sports Hostel Ground, and the Maa Manikeswari University playground.
Kalahandi DM Sachin Pawar presided over the colourful opening ceremony. Among the distinguished guests on the dais were Zilla Parishad Chairman Pushpendra Singhdeo, eminent orator Dr Shibaprasad Behera, DEO Radhakanta Chhatri, Joint Director (Berhampur Region) Pabitra Mohan Sahu, DSO Ramesh Chandra Padhi, Physical Education Coordinator Jyotiprasad Parida, representative of the SME Minister Jugal Podh, MP’s representative Jayshankar Naik, ADEO Hemsagar Mahananda, and District Physical Education Officer Rupsingh Rout.
The ceremony began with a vibrant Mashal Yatra that started from the Maa Manikeswari Temple and culminated at the stadium. Students from OAV Kesinga and Bhawanipatna presented the welcome song, while Talbelgaon High School performed the farewell song. A spectacular physical display was put up by students of Shastriji Shiksha Niketan. The traditional flag march and oath-taking ceremony followed.
DEO Radhakanta Chhatri delivered the welcome address, and Physical Education Coordinator Jyotiprasad Parida read out the annual report. During the programme, the guests also released Hemsagar Mahananda’s poetry collection ‘Lessons for Life’.
The evening featured a lively cultural programme with performances by students from various schools across the district, as well as noted local artists Sarbeswar Bhoi and Nilanchal Pan.
State official Niranjan Satapathy and CRCC Dileswar Rana anchored the proceedings smoothly, while ADEO Hemsagar Mahananda proposed the vote of thanks.
The event received full support from all BEOs, ABEOs, members of the organising committee, and staff of the DEO and DPC offices.
