Jamshedpur, July 24: The 134th IndianOil Durand Cup kicked off with a grand opening match of Jamshedpur leg of the Durand Cup here at the JRD Tata Sports Complex stadium, in the august presence of Sudivya Kumar, Minister of Urban Development and Housing, Higher and Technical Education, Tourism, Art & Culture and Sports & Youth Affairs, and Lieutenant General Ram Chander Tiwari, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SM, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command and Patron, Durand Cup Organising Committee (DCOC), along with Major General Dhurba Prakash Shah, Director General of Military Training of the Nepali Army. The Furnace, as the home of the Red Miners (popular local ISL outfit Jamshedpur FC), is often referred to as, was packed with football fans cheering every minute of the ceremony in spite of blinding rain.
The occasion also saw the presence of Saryu Roy, MLA of Jamshedpur West, Purnima Das Sahu, MLA of Jamshedpur East, D. B. Sundara Ramam, Vice President of Corporate Services, Tata Steel, Sanjeev Kumar Choudhary, Executive Director & State Head (Bihar & Jharkhand), IOCL, Mangal Kalindi, MLA of Jugsalai, Manoj Kumar Yadav, a distinguished sports personality and administrator from Jharkhand.
Among top brass of the Indian Army who also graced the occasion were Lieutenant General Yash Ahlawat, AVSM, YSM, SM, General Officer Commanding, Brahmastra Corps, Major Gen Rajesh Arun Moghe, VSM, GOC, Bengal Sub Area & Vice Chairman, Durand Cup Organising Committee, Major General Paramvir Singh Dagar, VSM, General Officer Commanding, Cockerel Division.
The grand opening ceremony started with a Paika dance performed by Gulab Singh Munda and the team from Ichagarh followed by a Khukhri dance performed by the 6th Battalion of the 8th Gorkha Regiment, which was followed by a Jhumair Dance, a vibrant local folk-dance and the final cultural program was a Kalaripayattu performance by the 21st Battalion of the Madras Regiment.
Just before the start of the match, Lieutenant General R C Tiwari and Major General Dhurba Prakash Shah exchanged greetings and souvenirs to reinforce the longstanding camaraderie and friendship between the Indian and the Nepali Army.
Lieutenant General R C Tiwari and Major General Dhurba Prakash Shah met the players and staff of the Tribhuvan Army FC (Nepali Army), clicked pictures and wished them a successful campaign in the Durand Cup, marking the start of the Jamshedpur leg of the tournament, for the second consecutive year.
Also, a few souvenir footballs were kicked into the spectator gallery to encourage the young onlookers to get hooked to the beautiful game. A loud and emotional crowd backed both the teams during the fiercely competitive game.
Indian Army FT and 1 Ladakh FC, who will be making their debut in the Durand Cup are the other teams in Group C. Jamshedpur will host seven matches including a quarterfinal of the tournament.
