State-Level Vanvasi Krida competition kicks-off in Jamshedpur

Jamshedpur: The State-Level Vanvasi Krida Competition, organized by Vanvasi Kalyan Kendra, was inaugurated today at JRD Tata Sports Complex. The ceremony was graced by Padma Shri and Dronacharya Awardee Purnima Mahato; Prafulla Akant, Secretary Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram; Mukul Chaudhari, Tata Steel Sports Chief; social worker Muralidhar Kedia; and Riju Kachhap, General Secretary of Vanvasi Kalyan Kendra, who lit the ceremonial lamp together.

Teams and players from various districts of Jharkhand are participating in the two-day football competition. The winning team will represent Jharkhand at the 24th National Vanvasi Krida Competition, which will be held from 28 to 31 December in Raipur, Chhattisgarh. Players from across India, including the northeastern states and Andaman and Nicobar Islands, will compete in this national event. Notably, tribal players from Nepal will also participate.

Prafulla Akant, in his address, emphasized that the players were selected not from sports academies but through rural and district-level competitions organized by Vanvasi Kalyan Kendra, which aims to discover and nurture tribal talent for national recognition. He also highlighted the inclusion of sports in the National Education Policy, which now allows students to take special exams if sports sessions overlap with regular examinations.
Mukul Chaudhari expressed the company’s continued support for players and assured that any exceptional performer would be given opportunities to advance in their sports career.
Purnima Mahato, Indian archery coach, praised Jharkhand’s abundant sports talent, stressing the importance of providing the right platform. She encouraged the players to work hard and expressed her best wishes for their success.

The event was presided over by Muralidhar Kedia, with program coordination managed by Sura Viruli.

Other dignitaries present included Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram’s State Organization Minister Devnandan Singh, Co-Organization Minister Sushil Marandi, Doman Mahato, Dr. Pushkar Bala, Amitabh Senapati, Vikas Singhania, Lalit Singhania, Ramnath Singh, Ruby Gautam, Durga Charan Bari, Rajesh Gupta, Vinod Tiwari, Dr. Kamlesh Kumar, Rohit Kumar, Dayashankar Singh, and numerous Vanvasi Kalyan Kendra workers.