The third-season of two-day ‘Schools India Cup National Volleyball Championship’ was inaugurated at Lovely Professional University (LPU) today. Different contingents comprising 200 players and officials from across the country are participating in it. On the inaugural day 10 ‘League Matches’ were played on three Volleyball Courts at LPU Campus. Teams competed were from the states of Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal (Pool A); Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat (Pool B); Jharkhand, Uttrakhand, Punjab (Pool C); and, teams for Pool D were from Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Jammu & Kashmir. In league matches, Pool ‘A’ teams struggled against those of Pool ‘C’; and, teams of Pool B tried to excel rival teams from Pool ‘D’. Now two semi-finals will be played tomorrow i.e. on 30th January between winning teams of Pool A and Pool D; and, the other between the winners of Pool B and Pool C. Final Match will be played between both the teams of semi-final winners.The championship is being organized at LPU Campus under the aegis of ‘School Sports Promotion Foundation (SSPF)’ of India- a philanthropic trust, which is committed to promote sports at schools, colleges and universities across India. This initiative of SSPF is in partnership with the Sports Authority of India and supported by the Ministry of HRD. The aim here is to identify sports talent across the country, which will be provided training by experts along with quality education for their all-inclusive growth.
In fact, ‘Schools India Cup’ is the country’s prestigious school tournament, which is conducted for five sports disciplines – cricket, football, athletics, volleyball and basketball.LPU Chancellor Mr Ashok Mittal inaugurated the championship and advised young students to live their passion to the full, without any constraints. Mentioning that sports and education go hand in hand for a student-athlete’, Mr Mittal also informed that LPU accommodates young talent of the country and facilitates them for further national and international level achievements.On this occasion, sports icons, international cricketer Chetan Sharma and former India volleyball captain, Om Parkash were especially present to motivate the young players. Both of them are Chairperson with SSPF Council for their respective domain, cricket and volleyball. Chetan Sharma and Om Prakash thanked LPU Management, unanimously, in hosting the championship and inspiring the students. LPU Pro Chancellor Mrs Rashmi Mittal, Dean Division of Student Welfare Dr Sorabh Lakhanpal & Sports Director Dr V Kaul were also present on this eve.
Results of the Day:
Haryana defeated Madhya Pradesh by 2. 0 sets with scores of 25-14, 25-14
Uttar Pradesh defeated Madhya Pradesh by 2. 0 sets with scores of 25-17, 25-16
Uttrakhand defeated Jharkhand by 2. 0 sets with scores of 25-10, 25-13
Tamil Nadu defeated Maharashtra by 2. 0 sets with scores of 25-18, 25-19
Haryana defeated west Bengal by 2. 0 sets with scores of 25-14, 25-18
Uttar Pradesh defeated Gujarat by 2. 0 sets with scores of 25-17, 25-15