Red Shield Division under the aegis of Spear Corps in support of State Govt of Assam conducted the Inaugural Ceremony for the 18th Edition of Capt Jintu Gogoi, Vir Chakra Memorial Football Tournament at Nehru Maidan, Duliajan in Dibrugarh District. Shri Sarbananda Sonowal, Cabinet Min Ports, Shipping, Waterways & AYUSH, Lt Gen R P Kalita, GOC-in-C, Eastern Command and proud parents of the braveheart Hony Flying Offr Thagiram Gogoi and Dulu Prabha Gogoi jointly declared the tournament open.
The event was also graced by Lt Gen R C Tiwari, GOC Spear Corps, Rameshwar Teli, Minister of State in the Ministry of Labour and Employment and The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Prasanta Borkakoty, RCE, Oil India Ltd and Bimal Bora, Minister Assam Government.
The mesmerising event was attended by over Twenty Thousand audience comprising of Sponsors, Media Houses, Influencers/ Bloggers of Assam and local populace of Upper Assam. The event was full of exciting and dynamic performances that included performances of Local Band, Military Jazz and Pipe Band, Combat Free Fall, Small Team Insertion, Kallaripayutu, Mallkhambha, Bhangra, Unarmed Combat and performance by local kids. The event also witnessed the Trophies displayed along side the Twenty Four Team Captains with Tournament and FIFA songs being played.
Speaking during the occasion, the Army Commander shared his personal connect with the brave-heart when he was the instructor of Capt Jintu Gogoi, VrC at Officer’s Training Academy, Chennai. Shri Sarbananda Sonowal congratulated and thanked Indian Army and Oil India Limited for organizing the event at such a grand scale. He also emphasized that such events will give the youth of Upper Assam opportunities for achieving bigger goals in sports.
The Tournament will be played from 15 to 22 February at four venues simultaneously at Duliajan, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia and Digboi with 24 teams from 8 states of North East. Closing Ceremony is scheduled on 22nd Feb 23.
Source: Indian Army
