Mangaluru: Dakshina Kannada District Amateur Kabaddi Association (DKDAKA) and Jaya Karnataka Sangatane (JKS) held a press meet at Hotel Quality here, on April 1.
Addressing the media persons, Chief Patron of DKDAKA, Sadananda Shetty said, “We have decided to organize a state- level athletic pro-kabaddi meet for men. This meet will be held under the guidance of the Chairman of State Amateur Kabaddi Association, Rakesh Malli. It will be the first ever such event to take place in any coastal region of India. The event will be held at the Panambur beach on 15, 16 and 17 April from 4:30 PM to 10:30 PM, seating arrangements will be made for 10,000 spectators.”
He further said, “The main aim of this meet is to showcase the talent of our youngsters to the rest of India and also inspire the younger generation to take up the sport. There are several athletes from the district who have participated at the international level. Mamata Poojary, Rose Mary Priscilla, Uday Chauta, Sukesh Hegde and Bhaskar Rai are the few we can proudly speak about.”
About 20-25 teams are expected to take part in the three-day event, they include, Air India, BSNL, ONGC, Mahindra & Mahindra, Vijay Bank, State Bank of Mysore, HAL, Chennai ITech, KSP, Secunderabad Railway, Kerala and Haryana State and regional teams like Sporting Ullal, Alvas Moodbidre and Varun Travellers. The tournament will be played on league and knockout fixtures. The winner will carry a cash prize of Rs 2,00,000, Rs 1,25,000 for the runners up, Rs 75,000 will be awarded to teams placed at third and fourth and other attractive trophies will be given.
President Rakesh Malli, Working President Rathan Kumar Shetty, Treasurer Mohith Suvarna and others were also present.