Gandhinagar, Sep 15 (IANS) The inauguration of national level Chess competition (girls) under the 54th National Sports Competition, organised by Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan took place at city’s PM SHRI Kendriya Vidyalaya School No 1 on Monday.

The championship saw 216 girl players from various regional Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) from all over the country, participating in the Under-17 and Under-19 categories.

The programme started with the arrival of the regional teams and pan-India guests being given a traditional welcome. The atmosphere was made eco-friendly with ‘Deepshikha (Torch) Prajwalan’ and ‘Green Welcome’. The welcome song was presented by the students which made the whole atmosphere musical.

The participating students were excited and thrilled to be part of the sporting event.

A participating student said: “I am from Punjab, representing the Chandigarh region, and I feel very happy and lucky to be here.”

Chief Guest and Assistant Commissioner of Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan Meena Joshi, said: “We have around 216 participants from 25 regions, accompanied by 25 escorts. The purpose of this event is to encourage our students to excel in sports as well.”

She went to emphasise the need for discipline, unity and mental development through sports.

The cultural programs mesmerised all the audience even as the players took oath and pledged to participate in the competition.

Special guest and well-known chess player Vishwa Vasanwala encouraged the players to drop their restraint and participate in maximum numbers.

Notably, she is the first chess champion player of Gujarat who represented India in chess. Vishwa has brought laurels to India by winning a medal in the Asian Commonwealth.

“Today, I see mini-India in Gandhinagar, students from different states are participating in this competition,” she said.

Notably, PM SHRI is a centrally sponsored scheme, intended to develop more than 14,500 schools for Rising India in which every student feels welcomed and cared for.

About 834 KVs have been selected as PM SHRI Schools and the scheme is proposed to be implemented over a period of 5 years till 2027.

–IANS

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