Lovely Professional University (LPU) is organizing Trans-Persons’ 1st national cricket tournament of six-days at its cricket stadium situated inside the campus. For this, 100+ cricketers from six states of the country are participating to reveal their cricketing skills no less than others.
Participating states are West Bengal, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab, and Haryana. LPU Pro Chancellor Rashmi Mittal inaugurated the tournament, where transgender rights activist & bollywood actress, Laxmi Narayan Tripathi and first trans-body builder of Asia Aryan Pasha accompanied her.
Unfurling the sports flag, Mrs Mittal congratulated LPU’s organizing team for pioneering a noble cause internationally for the exceptional section of the society. She also shared that this hosting is not only aimed to provide strength to the trans-community but also to promote the spirit of inclusion and participation.
Inaugurated during LPU’s global open fest ‘Youth Vibe-2023’, the finale of the matches will be held on 5th of May 2023. This first of its kind endeavour at LPU campus is to encourage the pursuit of personal growth in a sporting event.
It is indeed to recreate the Olympics' power to bring people of different backgrounds together through the language of sport. It is destined to ultimately achieve gender parity.
Laxmi Narayan Tripathi shared that the participation of transgender people in competitive sports used to be a controversial issue, particularly the inclusion of transgender women and girls in women's sports. However different nations are trying their best on positive lines for this. Presently, LPU has taken a lead above all by organizing cricket series where all participants are trans-men and trans-women.
In fact, this organization is in accordance with the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC’s) focus on total inclusion along with non-discrimination, fairness and more. Such efforts are certain to further boost transgender athlete's participation even in Olympic sports, with enforcement of sport-specific rules governing inclusion.
Historically, sport has been seen as a male domain, which was first moderated with the rise of women's sports. Now, it is towards the gradual acceptance of sports-trans-persons. In a match between Delhi and West Bengal, the former defeated West Bengal in mere 5.4 overs of a 20-20 overs’ pattern.
Nivedita Ghosh (wicket-Keeper) and Captain Nakashtra Rajput of Delhi scored 17 and 37, individually and respectively. For West Bengal Sanchayan Majumdar could make a maximum of 34 scores.