Akal Academy, Baru Sahib proved their supermacy and lifted the champions trophy in the boys' section in the 2nd Sant Attar Singh Memorial Hockey Tournament (under 16) beating Chakwal National Senior Secondary School, Kurali (Punjab) by a margin of 3-2. In the girls' section, Govt. Girls' High School, Baizalpur, Fatehabad (Haryana) topped the honors in the girls' section overcoming the fighting Akal Academy, Baru Sahib team by registering a victory by a margin of 2 goals to 1.
The tournament was inaugurated by Mr. S. S. Parmar, Chief Secretary, Himachal Pradesh at the sprawling playground of Akal Academy, Baru Sahib. Mr. D. K. Sharma, Special Advisor cum Secretary (Planning), Himachal Pradesh, Mr. R. S. Negi, Deputy Commissioner, Sirmore and SDM, Mr. Goyal were also present on the inaugural function. 18 School teams (10 boys' and 8 girls') from Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Chandigarh participated in this tournament. Besides chief guest Mr S. S. Parmar, local Patwari and Sarpanch also graced the occasion.
The Olympian Mr. Harbinder Singh who captained Indian Hockey team and participated in three Olympics of 1964, 1968 and 1972, besides representing India in various competitions for eleven years, was the Guest of Honour. Mr. Singh also played for 20 years at National level and served the Indian Hockey in various capacities as player, coach, manager and selector.
The participating youngsters were from Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh and Delhi. They were encouraged by his word of wisdom and were motivated by the experiences of the icon of the Indian hockey. The legendry figure, Mr. Harbinder Singh exhorted them to always strive for Number 1 slot, because the Number 2 is never remembered. And it is the topper only who walks away with all the acclaim.
Mr. Parmar, who happens to belong to the local Sirmore District, where Akal Academy, Baru Sahib is situated, lamented why he had not visited Baru Sahib all these years and he was overwhelmed by the location and surroundings of the area. He stressed that such tournaments should be organized in future too in the remote areas like Baru Sahib for more participation of the village students also.
The youngsters who participated for the first time were very happy and emotional to visit the hilly playground with pleasant weather. The atmosphere in the scenic Himalayan valley is conducive for hosting such tournaments and boarding and lodging facilities provided by the host Academy have been appreciated by one and all.
The prize distribution was organized on the concluding day followed by the closing ceremony. The winners of the tournament were awarded trophies by Mr. Swaran Singh, DFO, Rajgarh, Distt. Sirmore, Himachal Pradesh.
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