The 8th edition of the State Level Tribal Sports Festival 2023 organized by the Sports Authority of Goa commenced today at Ponda Sports Complex. Sports like Kabaddi, Kho- Kho, Volleyball, Tennis ball Cricket, Tug of war and traditional games like Langadi and Lagori will be held.
During the inaugural function the Mascot of this year ‘Eagle’ was unveiled. The brochure of the Sports Festival was also released. More than 2,000 participants from 12 Talukas including officials participated in the said event. While speaking at the inaugural function the Sports and Tribal Minister Shri Govind Gaude congratulated the participants for their talents. “An athlete who faces failure at the beginning of its career will always cherish its victory. A true sports person will always fight till the last seconds on the ground to defeat his opponents. Every person should have a sportsmanship spirit which enables a person to face any obstacles in life.” he added.
The Sports Minister further said that the objective behind this Tribal Sports Festival is to uplift the Goan Tribal community who are talented in the field of sports. He assured that 3 to 5 percent government job quota will be reserved for sportsmen who achieve gold medals at National level in any respective sports games.
The Agriculture Minister Shri Ravi Naik congratulated the SAG officials for organising such events that will be beneficial for the weaker community and also congratulated the participants for taking part in the two days festival in large numbers.
While at the inaugural sports person who won National Award in various sports games were felicitated. The other dignitaries who were present on the occasion were Sports Authority of Goa Executive Director, Dr. Geeta Nagvenkar, Director of SAG, Shri Rohan Kadam, Arjuna Awardee, Shri Bruno Coutinho and other Government officials.