The second edition of the Military Literature Festival (MLF) has kicked off from Patiala, with the 1st Archery and Shotgun Shooting Championship building the momentum towards the main event, scheduled for December 7-9, 2018.The event is a joint initiative of the Punjab Government, led by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, and the Chandigarh Administration led by VP Singh Badnore, in collaboration with the Indian Army.The competitions today saw a scintillating display of young sporting talent from across the state, capturing the essence of military's formidable sporting culture and ethos.A total of 150 Archers from across the state, including 20 International sportsperosns, vying for honours in the Compound, Recurve and Indian style categories at the Punjabi University Field Grounds, dazzled the audiences with remarkable precision and target hitting on the first day of the Archery event. The highlight of the Archery Championship included the World Cup Gold medalist Amanjeet Singh, Asia Cup Gold medalist Prabhjot Kaur ,besides the Asia Cup Silver winner Vikas Ranjan.In the Shotgun Shooting Championships, being held at New Moti Bagh Gun Club in village Mainn, shooters from seven other states besides Punjab competed in Trap,Skeet and Double Trap events. Competition in the Trap category saw a contest between shooter as young as a 14- year-old Dehradun girl and a 64 year old Maharashtra veteran. There were 40 shooters in total in the Trap event, while 35 participated in the Skeet and Double Trap events. Three international shooters - Amarinder Cheema, Gurjot Singh and Captain PPS Guron, along with national shooters Hakikat Grewal and Mankeet Guron, were the main draws in the shotgun events.
Sanjana Sethi clinched gold in Trap Junior Women category with another promising star Manraj Singh Sarao finishing first in Junior Men event. Inaya Vijay Singh landed podium finish with Gold in the Trap Women event with Vishavdev Singh Sidhu claiming Gold in Men fold.Young student horse riders of PPS Nabha, besides armymen from the 61st Cavalry, will enthrall the audience with their on-field dare devillery tomorrow on the second day. The events would conclude with the Western Command Polo Challenge match to be played at Patiala Polo and Riding Club followed by the Army band display on Sunday.These events will be followed by a spree of other events to be held in Chandigarh, including Cyclothone and Marathon (ladies) November 3-4, Off-roading 4x4 jeep display November 10-11, Birding Rally November 24, Combat Episodes November 17-18, Art and Photo Exhibition November 17-18, Golf Tournament November 19 & December 3, Para Motor Display November 30 to December 01, Air Force Display & Skydiving Display November 30, Equitation Tattoo & Saragarhi Light & Sound Show November 30 & December 1, Military Equipment Display November 30 & December 1 and Braveheart's Ride December 2.Earlier, Mayor Patiala Sanjiv Bittu formally inaugurated the championship and interacted with the shooters. Lauding Captain Amarinder Singh's visionary approach to promote sports culture in the state, he exhorted athletes to inculcate qualities of both the head and heart to succeed as true sportspersons.
These events are a perfect way to connect today's youth with the rich history of our forces, he said, assuring the athletes of all possible assistance from the state government.Speaking on the occasion, Director YPS Major General (Retd.) Sanjiv Verma lauded the excellent initiative and urged students to utilize these events as building blocks towards a successful career.In shotgun double trap Naved H Khan clinched Gold in Men's category while Armaan Singh Mahal and Sehajpreet Singh were declared first and second runner up respectively.Armaan Singh Mahal also scored top position in the double trap (junior men) events with Sehajpreet Singh and Jaswinder Singh finishing first and second runner up.In the Skeet (men) events Captain PPS Guron landed first and Amrinder Cheema and Gurjoat Singh were declared first and second runner up respectively.In the Skeet Junior (men) competitions Indershwar Sekhon finished winner with Harmehar Lally and Sukhdarshan Johal finishinh first and second runner up respectively.Jasmeen Kaur was declared winner in Skeet (women) events.Retired General B.S. Jaswal became the winner of Skeet Veteran (men) events while Parlahd Singh was the first runner up.Kartik Singla finished first in the Archery Compound Men event followed by Vikas Ranjan and Sangrampreet Singh Bisla.In the Compound Women events Raj Kaur clinched first position followed by Prabhjot Kaur. Gurpreet Singh won in the Indian round Men and Beant Kaur secured Gold in Women category.More than 550 people, including students from city schools, attended the sporting events today, with bigger crowds expected at the subsequent competitions and programmes.