Kerala State school sports meet off to a vibrant start with grand inaugural ceremony

Kerala School Sports & Games 2024 inaugurated by Minister Sivankutty with Olympian Sreejesh and cultural programs featuring 4,000 students.

The Kerala School Sports & Games 2024 got off to a colourful start here on Monday (November 4).

Minister for Education V. Sivankutty inaugurated the meet at Maharaja’s College Ground. The inaugural ceremony featured a march past with student athletes from 14 districts and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) parading from Durbar Hall Ground to the college ground. Olympian and brand ambassador of the meet, P.R. Sreejesh, received the torchlight from athletes, including the differently abled S. Yashwitha and Anu Binu, at the ground.

Mr. Sivankutty, Mr. Sreejesh, and differently abled sports personality Sreelakshmi lit the torch. Actor Mammootty inaugurated the cultural programmes associated with the inaugural event, while T.J. Vinod, MLA, presided over the ceremony.

Mr. Mammootty marvelled at the potential of the youth in the State, saying, “You are the pride of the State. Not everyone is lucky enough to receive second or third chances, so you should make every opportunity count.”

He also reminded the audience that competition was only possible when there were people to compete against. “There will be only one winner, but those competing alongside should not be seen as enemies,” said Mr. Mammootty, while wishing participants success in becoming the pride of the country by winning Olympic medals in the future.

Kottayam district was declared the winner of the march past, with Kollam and Ernakulam securing the first and second runners-up positions, respectively. The inauguration was followed by cultural programmes featuring around 4,000 students. Nearly 24,000 students, including 2,000 differently abled participants, will take part in competitions that will begin across multiple venues in the district starting Tuesday (November 5).

Hibi Eden, MP, MLAs P.V. Sreenijin, Eldhose Kunnappillil, K.N. Unnikrishnan, Uma Thomas, and K.J. Maxy, Mayor M. Anilkumar, district panchayat president Manoj Moothedan, and District Collector N.S.K. Umesh were among those who attended the inaugural function.