Daijiworld Media Network - Doha
Pics: Kiran Vas
Doha, Feb 28: Tulu Koota Qatar, a premier socio-cultural organization of Tuluvas living in Qatar and affiliated to Indian Embassy in Doha Qatar hosted their seventh kabaddi tournament at the Al Jazeera Academy School playground, Doha on Friday February 27.
The 6 teams which participated in the event were Maharastra Mandal Qatar, Alliance Project Solutions, Qatar Tamizar Sangham, host ATS-Tulu Koota Qatar, Karnataka Sangha Qatar (KSQ), and South Kanara Muslim Welfare Association (SKMWA).
In the afternoon, host of the event multi-talented Dr Padmashree Shetty welcomed the participating teams and the gathering. president Ravi Shetty, sports coordinator Asmath Ali and vice-president Prakash Rao escorted guests of honour KSQ president Deepak Shetty, Bunts Qatar president Prakashchandra Ajila, SKMWA president Abdul Majid and senior ex member of Koota Shankar Shetty, who is on a visit to Qatar, to the dais. Tulu Koota's dynamic and philanthropist president Ravi Shetty welcomed the gathering and requested all the teams to play with utmost sportsmanship spirit and wished the best team may win.
Later a colourful march-past of all the teams was conducted by the tournament director and past president Ramachandra Shetty. Tulu Koota general secretary Kiran Anand conducted the draw of lots.
Tulu Koota joint secretary Abdulla Monu administered the oath to all the captains of all the participating teams and the participants.
The initial round of the tournament was played in league format. SKMWA, ATS-Tulu Koota, KSQ and QTS qualified for the semi-finals.
The first semi-final match was played between SKMWA and KSQ, where after some nail-biting moments SKMWA defeated KSQ by only 3 points (23-20). Another semi-final match was between ATS-Tulu Koota and QTS, where ATS-Tulu Koota thrashed QTS by 20 points (51-21). Both semi-final matches were thoroughly enjoyed by a crowd of over 400 people.
The top two teams SKMWA and ATS-Tulu Koota qualified for the finals.
Before the start of the finals, Tulu Koota's Green campaign coordinator Chaithali Suhas Shetty stressed on the necessity of protecting the environment and made the gathering take a pledge to save water, electricity and reduce usage of plastice.
The most awaited final was played between ATS-Tulu Koota and SKMWA. ATS-Tulu Koota won the title by a score of 34-18. The final matches were played for 10 minutes each with two sessions.
The prize distribution ceremony was held in the evening. Aditya, staff officer of Indian Embassy was the chief guest, while Eklavya Awardee and 2007 World Cup gold medal winning team member Udaya Chowta was the chief guest, ICBF president Arvind Patil, ICC general secretary Divakar Poojary and KMCA president Niyaz Ahmed were the guests of honour. They were escorted to the dais by president Ravi Shetty, vice-president Prakash Rao and sports coordinator Asmath Ali. All the guests were welcomed with bouquets.
Tulu Koota president Ravi Shetty welcomed the gathering and thanked all the participating teams and the executive committee and the volunteers for their contribution towards the success of the tournament. Chief guest Aditya congratulated the winning teams as well as Tulu Koota on organizing such a great event to support kabaddi players.
Chief guest Uday Chowta congratulated the participants as well as the winners. He thanked and congratulated Tulu Koota on organizing and inviting him as chief guest for the tournament. He urged the players to play the game to build harmony among the community members. In his speech he also congratulated Tulu Koota and Karnataka Sangha on sharing the 1st prize for the environment campaign held by ICC/Embassy of India and ministry of environment, Qatar as part of the Qatar National Environment Day. Arvind Patil and Divakar Poojary also addressed the gathering.
Members of the winning team ATS-Tulu Koota were Sukesh Kumar (captain), Abdul Asik Ibrahim, Sandeep Ganesh, Sudheer Lakshmana, Shailesh Kumar Shetty, Chandrahasa, Yathin Kumar Ullal, Vishal Navinchandra, Zainuabn Aboobakar and Salim.Team manager was Chandrashekar Shetty
The members of the runner-up team SKMWA were Adam Bava (captain), Mohammed Haneef, Mohd Arief, Razak Kasim, Rasheed Abdul Hameed, Mohammed Musthafa, Mansoor, Anwar T A, Badruddin and Ismail Ziad. The team manager was Abdul Kasim Udupi.
The ‘best raider’ of the tournament was Shailesh Kumar Shetty of ATS-Tulu Koota, ‘best catcher’ was Ismail Ziad of SKMWA while the ‘player of the tournament’ title was bagged by Abdul Asik Ibrahim of ATS-Tuu Koota.
Talented Sathya Narayan Hegde and Naveen Shetty kept the audience entertained with their running commentary while the score panel was controlled by Sandesh Anand, Nitesh D and Seethram Shetty. The sound system was handled by Dhananjay Rai and Vijaya Rai.
Shridhar Nayak, Chandrashekar, Sunil Bhandary, Stephen, Sudhir Appu Shetty, Santhosh Shetty, Ranjan, Prasad, Vikram, Vishwanth, Sandeep, Mahesh, Deekshith, Santhosh Nagraj, Manjappa, Rakshan, Amith Poojary, Roopesh Kumar, Sandeep Mallar, Dinesh Gowda and ATS and OHL volunteers Suresh, Ashwin Shetty, Dhiraj and many volunteers worked hard for the success of the tournament. Mohan Jeppinamogaru coordinated various activities among the volunteers. Past president Ramachandra Shetty and Seetharam Shetty provided valuable support and advice.
The referee panel was led by J Antony, assisted by Dony, Donald and Rifaz. The first aid medical team was led by Rehman Bantwal. Prakash Rao, Sudhir Kumar OHL, and Sudhir Kotian managed the registration counter.
ICBF president Aravind Patil, Divakar Poojary, Niyaz Ahmed, Prakash Rao, Seetharam Shetty, Deepak Shetty, Ramachandra Shetty, Prakash Chandra Ajila and Abdul Majeed distributed prizes to the winners.
Talented Archana Shetty compered the closing and prize distribution ceremony while general secretary Kiran Anand managed the flow of events efficiently. Sports secretary Asmath Ali concluded the event with the vote of thanks.
More than 500 kabaddi lovers gathered at the venue to watch their favourite teams in action.
Karnataka Associations jointly felicitate Udaya Chowta
Later all the Karnataka-based associations viz Karnataka Sangha Qatar, Karnataka Muslim culyural Associations, Tulu Koota Qatar, South Kanara Muslim Welfare Association, Mangalore Cricket Club, Bunts Qatar, and Qatar Billawas jointly felicitated Udaya Chowta in appreciation of his great achievement in representing India and winning the gold medal and making every Kanndiga and Tuluva proud.