Sopore Police Martyr Memorial Cricket Tournament kicks off

Sopore, Dec 24: The Deputy Inspector General of (DIG) Police north Kashmir Range Maqsud ul Zamaan on Tuesday said the Jammu and Kashmir Police has always remained at the forefront to engage with youth and channelise their energy towards positivity.

Talking to reporters on the inaugural ceremony of the Sopore Police Martyrs Memorial T-20 Knockout Cricket Tournament at Eden Park MET Ground in Sopore, the DIG North Kashmir who was the chief guest at the occasion, said the basic purpose of the tournament was to engage youth in sports so that they remain away from all such things which bring negativity in their lives.

"Our desire is to keep youth engaged with sports. This tournament has been organised in memory of martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the nation," DIG north Kashmir told reporters here.

He said Police received scores of applications from teams for their participation in the tournament but after short listing, around 32 teams were selected to participate in the tournament.

"The families of martyrs are with us today on the inaugural ceremony. We want to give them (martyr) proper respect for the sacrifices they have made for the nation. This tournament has been organised in their honour," Maqsud Zamaan said.

He urged people of all age groups particularly the youth to remain engaged with sports so that they remain away from other negative things like drug abuse.

"JK police is always ate forefront to help people in every aspect of their life. They should stay away from all negativities and use their energies towards betterment of nation," DIG North Kashmir said.

DIG North Kashmir asked the players of the participating teams to demonstrate their skills and uphold the values of discipline and teamwork.

The inaugural ceremony of the Sopore Police Martyrs Memorial T-20 Knockout cricket tournament was also attended by Superintendent of Police Sopore Divya D as the chief guest.

The inaugural match was played between Lala Blues Sopore against Seer Eleven. Former won the toss and chose to field first.

Others who attended the inaugural ceremony were ASP Sopore, Mir Murtaza, Sarfaraz Bashir and DySP PC Wadoora Khursheed Rasool, along with several other senior officers.