Srinagar: The Director General of Police, Dilbag Singh, today declared open the 19th J&K Police Martyrs Memorial Football Tournament which is being organized by Jammu and Kashmir Police under its Civic Action Programme and in collaboration with J&K Football Association at Synthetic Turf TRC, Srinagar.
The DGP was the Chief Guest at the inaugural function.
Spl. DsG R. R. Swain, A. K. Choudhary, ADsGP SJM Gillani, M.K Sinha, Sunil Kumar, Vijay Kumar and Alok Kumar, IGP B. S Tuti, DsIG Vivek Gupta, Imtiaz Ismail Parray, Javid Ahmad Koul, Shahid Mehraj, Haseeb-Ur-Rehman and Abdul Qayoom, AIsG of PHQ, Kashmir based Commandants of JKAP/IRP battalions, Chairman J&K Football Association Wasim Aslam, General Secretary JKFA Prof. B A Shah, Nazir Ahmad Andrabi, Head Referee Association JKFA Nazir Ahmad Bhat, President DFA Srinagar Bashir Ahmad Malik, Secretary DFA Srinagar Showkat Masoodi, Zahoor Ahmad Telli, International players Latief Bhat, Mohd. Shafi Nari, Sajjad Yousuf Dar, Khursheed Ahmad Baba, Naseem Ul Gani, members of JK Sports Council and other civil, police officers besides a large number of football lovers were present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion the DGP while paying homage to the martyrs who gave supreme sacrifice of their lives for the peace of the Jammu and Kashmir and security of its citizens and above all for the integrity and sovereignty of the nation dedicated the eventful inaugural function of the tournament to the martyrs and said they will be remembered forever. He said that organizing and conducting different sports events in a calendar year are JKPs continuous endeavours to provide opportunities to the youth. This is 3rd such big event being organised in Srinagar this year by J&K Police, he added. Stating that organising and conducting such events is a part of mission of J&K Police, the DGP said besides performing our professional responsibilities, organizing such events are the efforts to connect with the society, especially youth who are the future. He said that we must recognize that the mission of JKP and its people is one.
Referring to the long unwanted terrible times of Jammu and Kashmir, the DGP said we all have witnessed hard times adding that we all acknowledge how important it is to move forward & stand together for the prevailing peace. Organizing this event is a step towards that mission, he added.
The DGP expressed his happiness on witnessing the participation of four women teams in the event and hoped that in the future more women teams will come forward for the participation. He congratulated ADGP Armed J&K Shri SJM Gillani and his team for including four new teams in this edition of the tournament.
Speaking to the media the DGP said that the event is the 19th edition of the tournament and more teams are participating than its previous editions. He said that players from all districts of Jammu and Kashmir are participating. He said that it’s a moment of pride that four women teams are taking part in this edition for the first time and congratulated the women players. He said that J&K Police has hosted the All India Police Football Championship in such a way that it was the biggest police event at National level and teams from all corners of the nation had participated in that event. He said that such big events provide a good atmosphere for cultural exchange.
In his welcome address the ADGP Armed J&K SJM Gillani thanked the DGP for gracing the occasion and briefed about the fixtures and participation of teams in the tournament. He also thanked the players, spectators, media persons, and the people for making the event a success.
