Saudi Arabia: Mangalorean Sports and Talents Day in Jubail
Report and pics from Ravi Karkera
Daijiworld Media Network - Jubail (SP) 

• Photo Album 1 - Sports & Talent
• Photo Album 2 - Sports
• Photo Album 3 - Fancy Dress
• Photo Album 4 - Prize Distribution
• Photo Album 5 - Singing

Jubail, Nov 20: Mangalore Association organised Talents Day on November 14 at the Rezayat Auditorium recently. People participated in both the events in large numbers.

The Sports Day of MASA held at Aziziyah succeeded in attracting about 300 people including men, women and children. Competitions were held for various age groups. Earlier to the event, a parade of the members was taken out by grouping them under Red, Green, Yellow and Blue houses.

The competitions started after the acting president of the Association Madhav Amin and general secretary Ravi Karkera besides committee head Santosh Shetty greeted those present at the venue. In addition to the regular events like races, long jump one-leg race etc., some funny games also were held like the sack race, tug-of-war etc. In addition to relay that aroused the curiosity of the people, the five-over-a-side  womens' cricket tournament  was also organised. Red House team captain Ropa Dayanand Chowta stole the show with an unbeaten knock of 67 runs in just 29 balls.  Roopa Chowta was adjudged the best batswoman, while the title of best fielder went to Kavita Shetty. Ivan Pinto emerged as  the best bowler and Deeksha Naveen Bhandary's superb catch earned her the 'best fielder' title.

Winners were handed over medals after the conclusion of the sports meet that went on from 9.30 am to 7 pm. In the e vents meant for the children upto six years of age, Bhavya Pradeep and Aditya came up winners. In the sports competitions held for thechildren between 6 and 12 years age, Siddarth and Ashish won first prizes. In the section meant for girls between 6 to 12 years of age, all the three events were won by Deeksha Bhandary.

In the boys section, Ritesh Uday Sanil won two of the three competitions, with the long jump competition having won by Ritesh Uday Sanil. In the girls section of the same age group, Shagufta and  Navya bagged top slots.  The three competitions held for the male members aged over  18 years, were won by Santosh P Shetty, Prakash Sanil and Ivan Pinto. In relay, Red team got the honours. Vidya S Shetty, Ritika N Shetty, Roopa and  D Chowta bagged the honours in the above 18 group for ladies, while the Red team won the cricket tournament and the relay race..

The group games, tug-of-war, volley ball, dodge ball game for children, ladies and men, provided lot of entertainment to the participants and the onlookers. Deeksha Bhandary walked away with the prize in the lemon and spoon race for the children in the age group of 6 to 12 years, while the segment for  women saw Laveena Sandra coming up trumps.

Ritesh Uday Sanil and Deskaha N Bhandary were declared the champions in the male and female categories respectively. Red house topped the points tally.

On Talents Day held at Rezayat Compound auditorium, Shashikant Poonja dressed up as Chacha Nehru distributed gifts sponsored by Gopal Shetty Sr,  to children below 12 years of age. Acting president Madhav Amin and his wife Mallika Amin jointly lit the ceremonial lamp. General secretary and entertainment committee head Ravi Karkera delivered introductory speech.

Fancy dress, singing and dance competition were held on the occasion. The fancy dress competition stole the hearts of the audience.  The MASA members also came out with some sole-touching performances in the singing competition. The day was also marked by the 25th wedding anniversary celebrations of acting president Madhav Amin and Mallika Amin. As such, everyone greeted and congratulated the couple. The dance competition was so close and intense because of the talent-filled performances, that the judges were confused about selecting the best among them.

Jungle Kids, Olivia Jean Mathias, Prateek S Poojary and Chittaranjan and Kirthan won the fancy dress competition meant for different age groups. In singing, Pramod Pai, Prateek S Poojary, Bhagyalaxmi and Kirtan stood first in their respective categories. Giselle Aranha, Deanne Monis, Prateek S Poojary and Nayaz Kaiser and Sumeet became winners.

Award ceremony was held immediately after dinner. Before the commencement of the awards ceremony, all the participants were called to the stage and thanked for making the day so special through high quality performances. Victor Sequeira proposed vote ofl thanks. Ravi Karkera had mentioned in his welcome address, that the people here miss their beloved president Karunakar Salian, currently undergoing medical treatment in Mangalore. Ravi Karkera, Santosh Shetty, Sarita Peter Aranha, Naveen Bhandary, Victor Sequeira, Roopa Chowta and Nayaz Kaiser anchored the programme.