media release

Mangalore, May 17: The much awaited Sri Bhoothanantheshwara Halli Cricket Tournament – II took off to a spectacular start this morning with the formal inauguration attended by Bollywood celebrity Sohail Khan. Another Bollywood Producer Avinash Adik was the chief guest. Sohail Khan is the younger brother of Bollywood heartthrob Salman Khan. He is a successful director, writer, producer and actor in Hindi films.

The tournament, which is spread over four days from 17th to 20th May 2012, is organized under the auspices of Sri Bhoothanatheshwara Temple and Sri Bhoothanatheshwara Bhajana Mandali. 77 village teams have registered for the event and the winner who is determined by knock out matches will gain Rs. 3 lakhs in cash prize. The total value of all cash prizes of the event is over Rs. 6 lakh.

The venue of this limited-overs under arm rubber ball tournament is the playfields adjacent to Sri Bhoothanatheshwara Temple, Badaga Yedapadavu, Mijar, Mangalore taluk. Viewers can also watch the matches live on V4 Channel.

The inauguration ceremony commenced with the welcome address by Kanthappa Shetty of Sri Bhoothanatheshwara Bhajana Mandali, followed by Introductory Address by Vijaynath Vittal Shetty, the Chief Co-Ordinator of the event. Mr. Shetty recalled the success of the first Halli Cricket Tournament held last year and hoped that the people will similarly co-operate this time too with enthusiastic participation and peaceful, disciplined conduct of Cricket Mela.

The inaugural ceremony was marked by lighting of the lamp by Sohail Khan. However reflecting true grace, he courteously passed on the honour to being the first to light the lamp to Mrs. Premalatha Shetty, the elderly mother of the event Chief Co-Ordinator Vijaynath Vittal Shetty, who was present on the dais.

In his message to the audience, Sohail Khan said he was very happy to attend this unique event and wished the participants all the best. Echoing the spirit of sportsmanship, he shouted out loud “May the best team win!” to the delight of the thrilled audience.

Bollywood Producer Avinash Adik, who was the Chief Guest, was full of praise for Vijaynath Vittal Shetty’s love for his home town. “Not everyone who prospers in the big cities will think of doing something for the folks back home. It takes a large heart for a man to do the deeds like what Vijaynath Shetty does,” he said. It was due to this reason that both he and his film industry colleague Sohail Khan had made it a point to attend the event despite not having slept the entire previous night due to tight shooting schedules, he said.

The crowds were pleasantly surprised when Sohail Khan went aside to change into the Halli Cricket T-Shirt and turban and went to the cricket pitch to face a bombardment of balls from the first contesting team. To everyone’s shock and surprise, Khan proved to be an expert batsman as he effortlessly shot sixer after sixer sending the ball soaring into the sky!

 “Future of sports in India is in the villages.” - Sohail Khan

Speaking to mediapersons on the occasion, Sohail Khan said the future of sports in the country lies in the villages. “The cities hardly have any space for children to play and we have to resort to playing in the streets. Moreover the city kids are spoilt by lifestyle technology and addicted to TV, Mobile, Internet etc.” Hence the talent that is being groomed in the villages through events like Halli cricket tournament will give a great boost to sporting in the future, he said.

“Actually I am a keen cricketer myself and I must say this soft ball under arm format is much more difficult than the regular cricket format. This game is very fast and you have to be extremely sharp and alert. Hence I must say these boys are going a great job, playing this game,” he said.

Before leaving the venue, Khan recalled his previous visit to the temple in May 2010 and said the main attraction for him to pay a return visit to this region was the beautiful greenery of Dakshina Kannada and the delicious local food. He especially liked the Country Chicken Sukka that he relished last time, he said.

 Closing Ceremony on 20th May: G. R. Vishwanath to be Chief Guest

Sri Bhoothanantheshwara Halli Cricket Tournament – II will conclude on Sunday 20th May, evening. The Legendary Cricketer of Karnataka G. R. Vishwanath will attend the closing ceremony as chief guest and give away the prizes to the winners.

Naveen Shetty, the popular anchor of NammaTV compeered the programme.