By Our Staff Reporter
Mussoorie, 25 Jul: The Opening Ceremony of the 50th Jackie Memorial Invitational Football Tournament was held here, today, at St George’s College. The final of the tournament will be played on 14 August. A total of 36 teams, including 18 Clubs and 18 Schools from Dehradun and Mussoorie are participating in the tournament.
Chief Guest Geeta Dhami, wife of the Chief Minister, was presented a bouquet on her arrival.
The Guests of Honour for the event were Mahesh Gawali, current Indian Football Coach and former Indian Football Captain, and Arun Malhotra, Technical Member, All Indian Football Federation and former Indian Footballer. The Secretary of the Football Association of Dehradun,
Rajendra Singh Rawat, was also among those present.
Principal Brother Ramesh Amalanathan gave the welcome address, after which the Chief Guest was presented a potted plant as a token of appreciation. The Guests of Honour were also welcomed.
The programme commenced with an inaugural dance presented by one hundred and twenty students of the middle school. The Nirmala Inter-College Football Team and the host team of St George’s College lined up for an exhibition match.
In her address, Geeta Dhami highlighted the importance of sports and sportsmanship. She also released the latest edition of the Manor Times, the official newsletter of St George’s College. She also planted a memorial sapling on the occasion. She proceeded to the field to meet the young players. This was followed by the kick off, the coin toss and photographs to commemorate the occasion. Manorite, Uday Aggarwal, President, The Debating Society, proposed the vote of thanks.
In today’s three matches, St George’s College defeated Nirmala Inter College, 2-0, in the exhibition match. The goals were scored by Satya Dhoj Karki in the 14th minute and Kritarsh Dev Nagta in the 32nd minute.
In the second match, Yuva Sports Club defeated Barlowganj Sports Club, 2-1. For Yuva Sports Club, the goals were scored by Anas Ahmed in the 40th minute and Aman in the 55th minute. For Barlowganj Sports Club (A), the only goal was scored by Prince in the 1st minute.
In the third match, FC Blue Club defeated Happy Valley Club, 2-1. For Happy Valley Club, the only goal was scored by Ravindra Rawat in the 34th minute. For FC Blue Club, the goals were scored by Akash in the 46th minute and Anshul Gunsola in the 53rd minute.
The referees for today’s matches were Abhi Gurung, Pushkar Singh Gusain, Satish Kulashri, Milan Chettri, Rohan Chamoli, Sushant Ale and Richard Joseph.
Today’s event was conducted under the supervision of Principal Brother Ramesh Amalanathan, Brother Shaju Thomas (Vice-Principal), Brother PU George (Superior), Brother Isidore Tirkey (Sports Secretary), Anand Thapa (Sports Coordinator), Deepali Ballabh (Cultural Coordinator), Praveen Gusain (Estate Manager), Bhavnesh Negi and members of the Sports Department.
