Kerala State School Sports Festival gets off to a colourful start at Thiruvananthapuram

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The 67th State School Sports Festival has begun in the capital city. The spirit of Kerala youth's sports will be on display in Ananthapuri for the next seven days as they explore new distances, heights and timings. This is the second edition of the school sports festival, which is being held on the model of the Olympics.

The festival was inaugurated by Finance Minister KN Balagopal at the University Stadium. Education Minister V Sivankutty presided over the event. The Education Minister described the festival, which will be attended by around 20,000 athletes, officials and teachers, as 'not just a competition, but a great cultural gathering of Kerala'. Food and Public Distribution Minister GR Anil wished the students success.

The sports festival flame was lit by former football star IM Vijayan and Asian Games bronze medalist HM Karunapriya. Indian basketball junior team member Athena Mariam recited the School Olympics pledge. A march past of teams from various schools in the district, SPC, NCC cadets, Scouts and Guides, and inclusive sports stars participating in the festival was held from 4 pm. Messages from Brand Ambassador Sanju Samson and Goodwill Ambassador Keerthy Suresh were also read out at the event. Various cultural programs were performed by the students.

MLAs Antony Raju, Kadakampally Surendran, V Joy, G Stephen, CK Hareendran, IB Satheesh, M Vincent; District Panchayat President D Suresh Kumar, Thiruvananthapuram District Collector Anukumari, Secretary of the General Education Department Dr K Vasuki, Director of the General Education Department NSK Umesh, Samagra Shiksha Keralam State Project Director AR Supriya, SCERT Director RK Jayaprakash, former sportspersons KM Beenamol, Padmini Thomas, KC Lekha and others were present.