1,250 sportspersons descend on Gangtok for 9-day event

STATE-LEVEL PYKKA GAMES BEGIN
GANGTOK, 15 Dec: Around 1,250 athletes from across the state are participating in the 2nd edition of the state-level Panchayat Yuva Krida Aur Khel Abhiyan [PYKKA] Sports Competitions 2011-12 which was inaugurated here at the Tashi Namgyal Academy playground today.

The nine-day event has been organized by the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs and is being sponsored by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
The competition, which has athletics, archery, badminton, boxing, football, kho-kho, table tennis, taekwondo, volleyball and wushu disciplines, is being conducted at TNA ground, Paljor Stadium complex and Guards Ground.
In his inaugural address, Sports Minister, NK Pradhan, said that through the PYKKA scheme the state has been successful in spotting and discovering new talents and development of sports infrastructures in the rural areas. The PYKKA sports competition has also been getting huge and encouraging participation of children from rural areas, he added.
The Minister encouraged the athletes to be more dedicated and hardworking in their respective disciplines in order to represent the state in the national level in the near future. He further urged them to target high to be a successful sportsperson.
The Chief Secretary, Karma Gyatso declared the competition open.
Sports Department Secretary, Karma P Bhutia informed that this competition has covered all corners of the state and received large participation of rural children.
Sikkim is among the few states in the country which has successfully implemented this scheme in the state, which was highly appreciated by the YA&S Ministry for giving positive and encouraging results, he informed.
The Secretary encouraged the participants to play in the spirit of sports and with dedication and discipline. SYA Joint Director [Headquarter], Doma Tshering, mentioned that PYKKA scheme is designed with the aim of ‘Sports to All’. She informed that earlier the competition was conducted at 95 Zilla Panchayat Units, which received encouraging participation of 42,925 athletes out of which 8142 athletes have taken part at the district level. She added that in the state-level around 1250 athletes are representing their respective districts.
On the occasion, Certificates of Appreciation were also awarded to Mangshila ZPU and Darap-Chumbong ZPU for their valuable contribution in the promotion of sports in the area.
It was informed that 3 pugilists from Mangshila ZPU bagged 3 bronze medals for the state in the National PYKKA competition in the last edition and likewise, an archer from Darap-Chumbong ZPU won a gold medal for Sikkim in the same national event.
During the inaugural function, four martial artists of Sikkim Amateur Wushu Association [SAWA] gave a demonstration, who will also be representing the country in the World Wushu Competition next year.
The inaugural function was followed by the commencement of the athletic events.