Ex-football champs, politicos and forces at Oorja’s closing ceremony

At the exhibition match of the third phase of Oorja CAPFs Under 19 Football Talent Hunt Tournament 2017, Delhiites got an opportunity to see former international footballers show their skills. The recently held event saw former football player Bhaichung Bhutia’s team clash with Oorja’s XI young participants at the Ambedkar Stadium. While the power-packed match was the highlight of the evening, the closing ceremony of the tournament, held the next day, was comparatively a settled affair.
WHEN THE CHAMPS PLAY: Bhaichung Bhutia during a match between his team and Oorja XI (BCCL)
Where else can we see this clash?: Delhiites
A day prior to the final match, football lovers got a chance to see the ex-football champs play a match with the Oorja footballers. The event was high on energy as for the audience and other footballers present there, just being able to see ex-football champs play live on the ground was a dream come true. Dhruv Bishnoi, a DU student and a cricket player, said, "I left my cricket practice and came here today because where else would we get a chance to watch such a football match? Aptly named, it is indeed a clash of the legends." Bhaichung’s team had IM Vijayan, Renedy Singh and Bruno Coutinho, among others, while Oorja XI had selected talented footballers from across the country. Not just the audience, but the officials of the paramilitary forces could also not help picking sides. An SSB official said, "These are legends, but the young players have been drilled for months, so it is going to be a tough match." And it indeed was. None of the teams scored a goal till the halftime, and the match came to a draw at 1-1, just like what most people expected.
SOME CHARCHA: Bhaichung Bhutia briefing Kiren Rijijub about the match (BCCL)
No football for me this time: Rijiju
Kiren Rijiju, Minister of State for Home, who was also the chief guest at event, discussed the game with Bhutia, who briefed him about the match. But when an organising team member requested Rijiju to play before leaving the ground, Rijiju replied, "No. Not today." The minister also hosted a dinner for all the football players at the CRPF mess a few days back. After the exhibition match, a final match was played between the teams from Haryana and Manipur. RR Bhatnagar, DG CRPF, thanked all the participants for making the event a success.
A FUNNY MOMENT: Sunil Grover and Sukhwinder (BCCL)
'Oorja brought football to Delhi grounds’
At the closing ceremony the next day, the match between the BSF teams of Punjab and Karnataka was a nail-biter. As it was the last day of the tournament, the football fans were glued to their seats rooting for their favourite teams, posting pictures from the stadium. KP Parthasarathy, a football fan, said, "Alhough I was rooting for Karnataka, I am glad that the best team won." The football fans told us that the Oorja tournament matches in Delhi were an opportunity for them to watch their favourite game live, which is a rare occurrence in the city. Kumar Saurabh, a footballer told us, "We have seen all kind of matches in Delhi, but mostly, it’s either cricket or hockey. Now that so many football matches were organised in a row, we hope that Oorja will come back next year."
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Rajiv Jain, Director IB and Chairman All India Police Sports Control Board and Archana Ramasundaram, DG SSB felicitating footballer N Ratanwala, with the Golden Boot (BCCL)
(L-R) PK Bhardwaj, Secretary, All India Police Sports Control Board, RR Bhatnagar, DG, CRPF and KK Sharma, DG, BSF (BCCL)
Such tournaments create an atmosphere for games: Arun Jaitley
Since the event was running late, a few performances were cancelled. But what stole the show was a performance on Mile Sur Mera Tumhara. Arun Jaitley, Union Finance and Defence Minister, who was also the chief guest at the event, said that such tournaments are like a "nursery for players and provide them with an ecosystem." He said, "Football is probably one of the most popular games, and we were definitely able to make it more popular among youngsters through this tournament." Archana Ramasundaram, DG SSB, said, "We have been able to motivate children to play football. Yeh hum logon ke liye gaurav ka vishay hai ki Oorja ne yuvaaon ko ek nayi oorja di hai. We have been able to inculcate the qualities of self-discipline, coordination and fair competition among youngsters.We have seen some really interesting moments in the tournament."
AND SOME DANCE: The high-on-energy cultural performances were the highlight of the closing ceremony (BCCL)
Apart from the winning teams, Punjabi singer Sukhwinder and comedian Sunil Grover were also felicitated for their contribution to the tournament. The event saw everyone congratulate each other for a successful tournament, while football fans wished that Oorja makes a comeback.