All India Public Sector Sports Control Board to revive sporting tournaments

AIPSSCB to organise a cricket tournament from December 20. The league is marketed by Sports Oodles Pvt. Ltd.

In an attempt to revive sporting activities, which had been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the All India Public Sector Sports Control Board (AIPSSCB) will be organising a T20 cricket tournament at Gurgaon from December 20 to 24, 2021. Government-owned crude oil and natural gas company, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), will be sponsoring the tournament.

The All India Public Sector Sports Control Board (AIPSSCB) was established in the year 1987 and is the apex body for conducting sports activities amongst Public Sector Undertakings/Autonomous Government Bodies besides helping the sports athletes to perform at national and international levels by providing them required assistance through member organisations. Leading Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) like the Airports Authority of India, ONGC, Indian Oil, Oil India, the Food Corporation of India, Life Insurance Corporation of India, BSNL, Air India, Canara Bank, the Reserve Bank of India etc., who actively promote sports, are members of the AIPSSPB. Currently, 24 organisations are active members of the Board. The league is marketed by Sports Oodles Pvt. Ltd.

Following the cricket tournament, a carrom tournament will be organised by LIC in Jaipur, a badminton tournament will be organised by HPCL in Bangalore, a table tennis tournament will be organised by ONGC along with a volleyball tournament that will be organised by Coal India as per the APISSCB’s Annual General Meeting that was held on December 7, 2021.

The format of the T20 tournament will be ‘league-cum-knockout’, which will be held at the Backyard Sports Club and Dome Cricket Ground in Sector 59, Gurgaon. The tournament will provide some much-needed exposure to the upcoming cricketers associated with member PSUs through employment/scholarship/contract by giving them a platform to showcase their talent as they will share the field with some of the country’s finest cricketers.

The PSUs that are set to participate in the tournament are:

• Airports Authority of India
• Air India
• Bank of Baroda
• Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd.
• Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd.
• Central Warehousing Corporation
• Coal India Ltd.
• Food Corporation of India
• Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd.
• Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd.
• Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd.
• Reserve Bank of India

Several well-known cricketers have represented their employer organisations in the past, with some of them also going on to represent their country, including the likes of Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Ishant Sharma, Ajay Jadeja, Wasim Jaffer, Munaf Patel, Praveen Kumar and Rishi Dhawan.

The AIPSSCB, through its member organisations, has already made phenomenal contributions towards promoting sports in the country, and recently, some of the ONGC and IOC officers were awarded the Arjuna and Dhyanchand Awards as well.

Speaking to SportsKhabri, Indian cricketer Amit Mishra spoke about the exposure the youngsters get from playing alongside some of the international players:

“I think this tournament is designed around giving the upcoming talents a platform to gain exposure and experience playing alongside those who have played at the highest level.

“Those who have represented the country and state are able to share valuable experiences with the youngsters. Even if the youngsters aren’t able to represent the country, the fact that they get to share a field together with the senior players will definitely help them improve as players.

“ONGC has always supported and helped these tournaments which help develop and grow the game. The biggest example of youngsters making it big through these tournaments is me. When I was younger, I started my journey with some of the biggest names at such tournaments, which eventually helped me grow as a cricketer.”

Mishra also spoke about how even after representing his country for 18 years, he is still learning every day:

“The greatest thing about the sport is that no matter what you achieve in the sport, you always are learning. The game is always evolving and it is upto you to adopt them and improve your game.

“I am still learning, even today, I look at the new guys coming through and I learn everyday from them.”

The leg-spinner also spoke about the importance of growing the women’s game too:

“I have always been a vocal supporter of the women’s game. We have seen in the last 8-10 years, the talent that is coming through is really promising for the women’s game.

“Although there isn’t an abundance of talent, slowly but steadily the talent is coming through and the support for the game has also increased. The game has definitely improved in the last few years and I hope it keeps growing and moving ahead.

“We should also include such tournaments and leagues for the women’s game as well and hopefully these leagues materialise soon and it will help the game develop and grow even more.”