MAKA trophy arrives amidst big celebrations

Gagan K Teja

Tribune News Service

Patiala, September 2

Winning the coveted Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy for the eighth time in 10 years took the shape of a mega event as the trophy arrived at the Punjabi University campus amidst huge celebrations today. 

Punjabi University won the trophy by a huge margin of over 22,000 points. 

Punjabi University earned 55,332 points to finish first ahead of GNDU, Amritsar. Kurukshetra University and Delhi University stood third and fourth, respectively. Punjabi University had stood first in 43 All-India Inter-University competitions. 

Punjabi University Vice-chancellor Jaspal Singh said it was very difficult to maintain the top position. “Punjabi University has a dedicated team of coaches and players which has helped the university in retaining its sports glory,” he added.

Protest against Director Sports

Members of the Punjabi University Employees Welfare Association and a few student organisations raised slogans against the Director Sports, Rajkumar Sharma, who has been booked for faking sports certificates to land the job of a lecturer in the Punjab government in 1991. They demanded departmental action against Sharma, who has received an anticipatory bail in the case. The protestors claimed that despite serious charges against Sharma, the university authorities are yet to initiate any action against him. However, Jaspal Singh said that no charges were proved against Sharma yet. “We will go by whatever the court directs. However, till now he has not been proved guilty and we cannot negate his contribution in winning the prestigious trophy,” he added.