Shimla Red emerged victorious in the inaugural Under-21 “Nasha Chhodo-Khel Khelo” Anti-Chitta Inter-District Volleyball Tournament, defeating Mandi 3-2 in a thrilling final here today.
At the closing ceremony, chief guest and Shimla MLA Harish Janartha presented the champions with the running trophy and a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh. The runner-up Mandi team received Rs 50,000.
Individual excellence awards were also presented by the chief guest to — best attacker: Siyal (Mandi); best setter: Krish (Shimla Red); best libero: Himanshu (Kullu); and best blocker: Piyush (Shimla Red).
Speaking on the occasion, Janartha lauded the event’s success and highlighted a new district administration initiative to award Rs 20,000 to every team reaching the quarterfinals. He assured that Under-19 school camps would soon be hosted at the venue and urged coaches to continue utilising the facility.
Janartha added that the district administration and the Shimla Municipal Corporation would jointly release a dedicated schedule for specific sports at the venue, and announced plans for upcoming open sports competitions. He also thanked the organising committee for the seamless execution of the tournament.
For the first time, volleyball was included in the International Shimla Summer Festival line-up. The five-day tournament, held from June 8 to June 12 at the Rajiv Gandhi Multipurpose Sports Stadium and Ground, saw fierce competition among 13 participating teams.
