Sports Reporter
JAMMU: Hosts Jammu and Kashmir shall be playing against CBSEWSO in the opening league tie of the 62nd National School Games Boys Football under-19, organised by the Department of Youth Services and Sports (DYSS) at different venues, here tomorrow. However, the opening ceremony of this five-day mega event, wherein 29 teams have been projected in the drawn fixture, shall take place at MA Stadium, here at 11 am. The event is being held under the aegis of School Games Federation of India (SGFI).
The hosts J and K have been placed in group-E with Rajasthan, Puducherry and CBSEWSO being other teams. In all, the participating states and other independent identities have been divided into eight different groups for the league round. Finally, the eight winners of as many groups shall compete in the knock-out stages of quarterfinals.
In all, 47 matches shall be played with 39 in the league round. While four venues of University of Jammu, GGM Science College, MA Stadium and BSF Stadium, Paloura have been finalised, the fifth venue was yet to be decided by the organising committee.
It is for the second consecutive year that J and K has been allotted the event. Last year Games took place at Srinagar wherein Punjab emerged the winner beating Maharashtra in the final. Third place bagged by Rajasthan while NVS (Navodya Vidyala Sangthan) finished fourth.
The Participants:
Pool-A: Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh. Pool-B: Vidya Bharathi, Uttrakhand, Chhattisgarh. Pool-C: Telangana, Karnataka and Chandigarh. Pool-D: Maharashtra, IPSC, Haryana and KVS. Pool-E: Rajasthan, Puducherry, J&K, CBSEWSO. Pool-F: Tamil Nadu, Lakshdeep, DAV and West Bengal. Pool-G: Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerela and Andhra Pradesh. Pool-H: NVS, Jharakhand, Daman Diu and Delhi.
Meanwhile, hosts J and K has already finalised the 20 member team, accompanied by Sheikh Showkat and Sukh Dev Singh as coach and manager respectively.
The TEAM: Ajay Singh (MHAC Nagbani, Jammu), Mohd Saqib Dar (GHSS Jawahar Nagar Srinagar), Ajay Lakha (DBN Vidya Mandir, Jammu), Nadeem Ashraf Dar (New Convent HS Gogji Bagh, Srinagar), Naish Mansoor Ansari (SP HSS Srinagar), Vishal Mehra (SRML HSS Jammu), Abdul Hanan Mir (Tyndale Biscoe School Srinagar), Sameer Ahmad Shalla (GHSS Boys Ganderbal), Aasim Malik (SP HSS Srinagar), Saqib Farooq Dar (GHSS Jawahar Nagar, Srinagar), Aftab Ahmad Shah (Tyndale Biscoe School, Srinagar), Sahil Kumar (MHAC Nagbani, Jammu), Ali Sajjad Fazili (Burn Hall School, Srinagar), Sheikh Abrar Rehman (Tyndale Biscoe School, Srinagar), Shakir Noor Bhat (Old HSS Jawhar Nagar, Srinagar), Sameen Manzoor Dar (SP HSS Srinagar), Basit Bashir (Government BHSS Kupwara), Hiteshwar Singh (JKPS Jammu), Manav Choudhary (MHAC Nagbani, Jammu), Abhiraj Dev Goswami (APS Udhampur).
