Villages fight drugs with sports
Amid reports of people moving abroad in search of greener pastures, there are villages where NRIs and locals have provided facilities for the youth to adopt sports and make a career out of it.
As the drug menace has found its way into villages of the state, a very conscious decision of organising tournaments is creating a sports culture in rural areas. The aim is to keep the youth away from all kind of bad influences.
Recently, Baba Diwan Singh Sports Club Academy organised a football tournament in Bhode Saprai village from February 18-23. Around 32 teams from across Doaba took part in the tournament. Players participated in the U-11, U-15, U-19 and open categories.
The academy was opened in 2011 in the memory of village’s good Samaritan Baba Diwan Singh who gave his land, where a school and a ground for children was opened.
The coaches who train 75 boys and 50 girls at the academy said the players from Bodhe Saprai, Chanapur, and surrounding villages come to play. Harvinder Singh Sapra and Mangat Ram are the coaches here who have been associated with the academy since its inception.
Mandeep Sharma, the president of the academy, said the idea of organising the tournament was to create sports culture and inculcate sportsmanship in children.
In February, with the aim of keeping the youth away from drugs and to convey the message, a three-day football cup Khed Mela was held in memory of former Punjab minister and Congress leader Gurbinder Singh Atwal.
Football Academy, Phillaur, had organised the event, wherein games such as tug-of-war, kabaddi, basketball and football were played.
Apart from this, in a unique effort, the gram panchayat of Dabulia village, under the guidance of Arjuna Awardee Sajjan Singh Cheema, had also held a marathon titled ‘Tandrust Dabulia’. It was for the first time that a village-level marathon was organised. The motive was to create a healthy village and ultimately a healthy state. ‘Saada khwab nasha rahit Dabulia’ messages were displayed in the entire village.
