The 23rd Nehru All India Inter Universities Hockey Tournament (Zonal Final) in collaboration with Association of Indian universities got underway on February 22 amidst rousing ovation at the Shivaji Stadium. Chairman of HVR Sports INC Harshavardhan Reddy inaugurated the mega event and gave away the cash prizes to all the participants.
This is the first time each and every participant has received financial encouragement in any tournament.
The 8-day tournament has 16 universities competed for top honors. From each university there are 18 students participated in this championship. The Inter Universities Hockey Tournament has participation Tamil Nadu, Chandigarh, Punjab, Delhi and Maharashtra. The tournament, often touted as a hunting ground for fresh talent, will also focus on unearthing leadership qualities among the top university teams across the Nation.
JNHTS (Jawaharlal Nehru Hockey tournament) has always been striving to promote the game at all levels and feels elated when hockey players are recognized by the Government of India. This organisation is working for the last 52 years. In a similar way HVR Sports INC, a mega sports company, with a vision to convert passion into sustainable profession, has created a platform not only for a large number of sporting events, but also for sportsmen to come forward and showcase their talent. Both these organization have now come together with an ambitious target to change the face of the hockey in India.
This moment was cherished and appreciated by the Secretory of JNHTS Mr. Kukoo Walia. He further said, “I acknowledge Mr. Reddy’s efforts to raise the standard of hockey in India. By awarding the participants with the cash money he is not only encouraging this game but also motivating them to participate and opt it as profession. As our organisation is working for the last 52 years to promote hockey but HVR Sports associating with us will boost these players”.
Speaking at the inaugural day, Mr. Reddy said, “Although hockey is India’s national sport, it has rarely been encouraged the way cricket is. Actually it’s not hockey alone, not many sports disciplines have been supported as cricket, which attracts huge amounts of corporate funds. The result is that those sports have neither the financial muscle nor the infrastructure to develop sporting icons that spur sportsmen to take up such sports as a profession.”
