TURA: The 4th Garo Hills Open Badminton Championship which was held from October 24 at the Indoor Sports Hall, Hawakhana in Tura culminated here on Saturday.
The championship held for the Veterans Group (40 years and above) and Open Group in the Singles, Doubles, and Mixed Doubles categories saw the participation of a large number of badminton players from all five districts of Garo Hills. The Opening Ceremony was graced by Anurag Kumar, IPS, DIG (WR) as Chief Guest alongside Dr. MGR Kumar, SP, West Garo Hills District, and Rituraj Ravi,SP, South West Garo Hills District. The Western Range, Meghalaya Police simultaneously held an awareness campaign on Prevention of Drug Abuse, Sexual Abuse, and Drunken Driving –being some of the prevalent social problems. The police personnel stressed on the crucial role of the public – particularly the school and college students who were in large attendance – to refrain from such crime and spread positivity through responsible behaviour. They urged them to play sports like badminton more often and be accountable citizens. The finals and prize distribution were attended by sports enthusiast Billykid A. Sangma, Former Legislator and current Co-Chairman, Meghalaya State Planning Board as Chief Guest. During the competition, the Mixed Doubles category was won by Sharon N Sangma and Sengrang D Shira, Men’s Doubles Open category by Swapan K Das and Heliard D Marak, Men’s Doubles Veteran category by Chongtham Vikas and Sengrang D Shira and Men’s Singles by Brainyo K Marak.
