News & Pics: Divya Lad, Aditya Ramachandran
Daijiworld Media Network
Udupi, Oct 10: The Annual Athletics Champions meet hosted for the first time by Manipal Institute of Communication (MIC) was inaugurated on at the MIT grounds Saturday October 9.
The first day of the two-day intra-University meet saw overwhelming response from representatives of all constituent colleges, especially the host college MIC.
H N Udayashankar, registrar (Evaluation) of the Manipal University (MU) was the chief guest for the inaugural ceremony. He declared the meet open and in his address emphasised on the spirit of brotherhood, especially in the light of the Ayodhya and CWG controversies.
Contingents from 16 colleges of MU participated in the march past in which MIC emerged victorious.
M V Kamath, honorary director of MIC, graced the event with his presence. Kempraj, director of physical education of MU and Varadesh Hiregange director in-charge of MIC were also present.
“We got an overwhelming response. Around 18 colleges of the University participated in the event. We were lucky that the weather remained good throughout”, said Padma Kumar, faculty in-charge of the athletic meet from MIC.
Most of the track and field events like relays, 500 m, 1500 m, long jump, shot put and javelin throw took place on first day. The participants and spectators alike were visibly impressed with the flawless organisation of the event.
“For a small college hosting such a big event in a university as big as MU, this is definitely a great opportunity for us in MIC. It is a proud moment for all of us here. There is a lot of responsibility, and definitely worth the effort”, said Shrikant, sports secretary of MIC.
The first day saw a good show from athletes with a meet record being broken in 1500 m race by an MCONS student. Also, Ramya Krishna, a masters student of MIC, won a gold in women’s javelin throw. “We have many promising sportspersons in the college. It’s a proud moment for all of us. Ramya is a university champion and MIC has high hopes from its athletes. I’m thankful to the university for giving us the opportunity to showcase our talent”, said Soubik Ray, one of the sports representatives of the college. Tomorrow's events will commence at 9 am and the closing ceremony will be held tomorrow evening where all the winners and overall champions will be awarded.