A Correspondent
Itanagar: Commander of Tawang Brigade of the Indian Army, Brigadier Zubin Bhatnagar on Friday inaugurated the Independence Day football tournament at Gyalwa Tsangyang Gyatso high altitude stadium at Tawang district in presence of Commandant of 38th Battalion of SSB Rajesh Thakur.
Tawang District Football Association (TDFA) Chairman Namgey Tsering in his address informed that the tournament has been sponsored by Chief Minister Pema Khandu and MLAs Jambey Tashi and Tsering Tashi. He further said that TDFA is affiliated to Arunachal Pradesh Football Association and from now onwards TDFA will provide a platform to the players to play in state-level football tournaments. He also paid tributes to the martyrs of Kargil war and said that their sacrifices for the country would be remembered forever, an official communiqué informed.
Speaking on the occasion Brig Bhatnagar complimented the teams and TDFA for organizing the football tournament every year. “Games and sports are very important for physical as well as character building. Our young and dynamic chief minister himself is a very good sportsman. There are lots of talented footballers in Arunachal Pradesh and I hope we will see international level footballers from the state very soon,” Bhatnagar said.
He further said that the day was very important for all to remember the brave soldiers who made supreme sacrifice during the Kargil war. “We soldiers are always blessed to receive so much of love and respect from people of Arunachal which encourages us to serve more dedicatedly and sincerely,” he added. A total of 19 teams are participating in the tournament while the first match was played between Pingya XI versus Dosti Club Jang, the communiqué added.