Abdul Gani of Muneerkotla wins Ragoora-Sidhra Dangal
STATE TIMES NEWS
SIDHRA: Abdul Gani of Muneer Kotla Punjab on Tuesday defeated Pritipal of Phagwara in the Ragoora-Sidhra Dangal held at Ragoora, now famous for wrestling competitions.
In all 48 bouts were held in the much watched competition between wrestlers from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and Jammu.
“Winning and losing are part of the game and the key point of the Dangal competition remains that the wrestlers gave this best, which will serve as an inspiration for the budding wrestlers of Jammu”, Former MLA and BJP leader, Devender Singh Rana said while giving away the championship trophy at a brief function held after the final wrestling bout.
The former MLA observed that wrestling remains a passion for its practitioners and fans whose number is growing, notwithstanding the challenge being posed by other popular games. The keenness of youngsters towards wrestling can be attributed to the game catching the imagination of the sports lovers across the world in the wake of live performances of the wrestlers of international fame, he added.
Mayor of Jammu Chander Mohan Gupta was the Guest of Honour on the occasion besides BDC Nagrota Ch Rehmat Ali, Mohd Sultan and others were present.
Rana said Dangal is a traditional sport, revival of which is a welcome sign. The response of the fans is reassuring that the game still holds big promise for talented youth, Rana said and congratulated the competitors for making the event live and breath-taking.
Rana hoped that the initiative taken by the organizers will inspire youngsters towards sports in a big way. He described sports as imperative for overall personality development and urged the youth to participate in the games, alongside pursuing academics.
Organised by Dangal Committee Rangoora, led by Abdul Mehmood, Mushtaq Ahmed, Irfan Ahmed, Khan Mohd, Ab Hameed and others, the Dangal remained a talking point for a large number of fans who thronged from peripheral areas, as also from Jammu.
Rana wished the organizers success in all their endeavours and hoped that the initiative would grow on a larger scale with participation of many more wrestlers from the other parts of the country as well.