By IANS
Amritsar : It was a proud moment for the Guru Nanak Dev University Wednesday when its vice chancellor Jai Rup Singh was handed over the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad trophy for being the best university in sports by President Pratibha Patil at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi.
The university created history in inter-varsity sports by winning the coveted trophy for a record 20th time.
The university, having its campus in this Sikh holy city famous for the holiest of Sikh shrines – Harmandar Sahib (Golden Temple) – has created the record in just 38 years of its existence. It was set up in November 1969 to mark the 500th birth anniversary of first Sikh guru Nanak Dev.
Named after India’s first education minister, the trophy was instituted in 1956.
After winning it for the first time in 1976, the university went on to win it seven times in succession between 1978 and 1985. Except for 2000, the university won this trophy every year between 1996 and 2004.
It remained runners-up for the trophy on several occasions.
“It is a great honour and pride not for the Guru Nanak Dev University but also for the whole of Punjab and its people. Our distinguished sportspersons are the main architects for this great victory and have brought laurels to the university. They really deserve all appreciations for this superb achievement,” Jai Rup Singh said after receiving the trophy.
The cash award of Rs.200,000 with the trophy will go towards the development of sporting facilities in the university, he announced.
“The sporting culture of the university can be seen from its list of 27 Arjuna awardees – the national award for excellence in sports – and 44 Maharaja Ranjit Singh state awards,” university spokesman R.P. Sobti said.
Prominent names in the sporting field from this university include former Olympian and Indian hockey captain Pargat Singh, cricketers Madan Lal and Mohinder Amarnath and several other Olympians and international and national stars.
University sports director Kanwaljit Singh said that during 2005-06, the university won nine all-India inter-varsity championships in kabaddi (women), hockey (women), gymnastics (men), korfball (men), gymnastics (women), weightlifting (men), weightlifting (women), power-lifting (men) and best physique.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has set up a centre for excellence in sports in the university here and a grant of Rs.63 million has already been released for sports development, the sports director said.
The university has its own astro-turf hockey ground and an Olympic-size swimming pool.