Media Release
Doha, Apr 18: The third edition of the Tipu Sultan Cup, hosted by Karnataka Muslim Cultural Association (KMCA), an ICC affiliated Indian community organisation, began on April 18 from 7 pm at the Old Ideal Indian School playground.
The teams were invited to line up at the ground and the National Anthems of the State of Qatar followed by National Anthem of the Republic of India marked the commencement of the opening ceremony. The evening saw a minute's silence in memory of the souls lost in the recent calamity that hit Kerala.
The opening day commenced with the recitation from the Quran and reading the translation of the recited verses by Shaikh Mohd Zayed. The chief guests for the evening were Arvind Patil, president, Indian Community Benevolent Fund (ICBF) and Sam Basheer, president of Kerala Muslim Cultural Committee (KMCC) and the guests of honour were Arjuna Awardee Paralympic athlete, Padmashri recepient and Karnataka Rajyotsava Awardee Girisha Hosanagara Nagarajegowda and Paralympic athlete Surjeet Singh who were flown in from India specially for the opening ceremony of KMCA Tipu Sultan Cup 2016 in keeping with the tradition of KMCA to recognise the unsung heros of Indian sporting arena. The guests were ushered into the grounds in a stretch limo preceded by Indian and Karnataka flag bearers.
KMCA president Niyaz Ahmed escorted the guests and the sponsor dignitaries to the stage. The evening just got brighter with the arrival of Tipu Sultan in his avatar to the grand welcome of the crowds. The convoy of the flag bearers started their procession. The convoy included swordsmen displaying their mastery and art followed by the Sher-e-Mysore himself. The procession led Tipu Sultan to the designated area with a throne befitting his stature.
Niyaz Ahmed addressed the gathering and welcomed all the guests, dignitaries and the spectators. Zakir compered the opening ceremony and the guests of honour were felicitated by the dignitaries on stage and the KMCA executive committee. Fayaz Ahmed, KMCA treasurer introduced Padmashree Girisha and Ismail Aboobacker introduced Surjeet. The guests expressed their heartfelt thanks to the hosts and the gathering for promoting the non-mainstream sports of India. The Karnataka-based affiliate organisations felicitated the guests.
Chief guests Arvind Patil and Sam Basheer addressed the gathering and appreciated the efforts of KMCA in highlighting the significance of the first freedom fighter of India, Tipu Sultan and the recognition of the Paralymic athletes who have brought many accolades to India.
The captains were invited to the stage to receive the tournament memento and a vote of thanks was presented by Saquib Raza Khan, vice-president, KMCA. The torch lighting ceremony was held, Tipu Sultan handed over the torch to the veteran and legendary personality, the past president of KMCA, Syed Abdul Hye, who was escorted by past president Ahmed Saeed Assadi. The torch was passed around the captains of all eight teams and the captain of the host team KMCA handed it over to KMCA sports secretary Syed Ashfaq to Light the Cauldron.
The venue as always was decked up and this time KMCA wowed the crowd by presenting live coverage of the entire day on a huge LED matrix screen, along with the huge erection of the cricket bat and wickets on either sides of a centrally located huge cricket ball over the tournament hoarding which were illuminated upon lighting of the torch cauldron.
The team draws were held and the fixtures decided by Arun Kumar. Thereafter, the first fixture, match 1 was played between KMCA and IFC. KMCA won the fixture, Khurram from Team KMCA was awarded the Man of the Match for his winning knock of 47 not out which included 6 sixes and 1 four. QKF won the second match against SFQ and Moiz from QKF was crowned the much deserved Man of the Match title for his 29 runs, 3 wickets and one catch.
The event was well attended by all Karnataka ICC affiliated organisations' representatives including Ravi Shetty, Deepak Shetty, Shuhaib, Norbert Corda, V S Mannangi, Arun Kumar, Milan Arun, Ibrahim Beary, Abdulla Monu, Seetharam Shetty, Ramchandra Shetty, Asmat Ali, Dr Sanjay Kudri among others.
KMCA president and vice-president highlited the significance and undeniable contribution of the event sponsors without whose continued support, such events remain a dream without realization. The main sponsors of the tournament are Alm and Gulf Lights, with support sponsorship from QDC, NDC, Premier, GTD, Euro Parts, ALU Tech, Stellar, STS Group, Alehtiyati among others.
The final will be played on April 21 at 7 pm, after which closing ceremony and prize distribution will be held.
The tournament is open to public, and families are encouraged to come and enjoy the spirit of the game.