On the 22nd of November 2019, a beautiful Friday morning, the members of North Kanara Association, Kuwait, joined hands yet again, to participate in the NKA-K Sports Day 2019, for the second time in this year, at Agility grounds, Mina Abdulla.
The perfect weather complimented the sporting spirit of the participants. Ms. Marita Miranda invoked the blessings of the Almighty for the success of the event. Thereafter the sporting event was officially opened followed by a delicious Indian breakfast prepared by some of the committee members.
The cricket tournament was meticulously officiated by the NKA-K sports committee comprising of Joseph Tellis, Sports Secretary along with Clodi D’Cunha and Stany Gomes and various other members who volunteered to successfully conduct the Tournament. One could witness the obsession and love for cricket just by glancing at the Cricket ground, that was surrounded by a huge crowd cheering the players. The score keeping was done by Ryan Prince and Peter Lopes. Live commentary by Francis Fernandes, Marshal D’Souza and Glenny Lopes was extremely hilarious and entertaining.
The Emcee of the day Glenny Lopes kept the crowd updated on the day’s programme and entertained everyone with his humorous talks. Ms. Marita Miranda, the Events Coordinator, organized the games for ladies, namely, 'The Lady with the Straw' and 'Bursting the Balloons' which were so amusing and in one of the games for children, they were made to race for a tricky puzzle that they had to be solved. The challenge even drew the parents to the spot. 'Ringing the bottle', arranged by Mr. Clifford Miranda was yet another exciting game which kept the audience enthralled. Wilson Miranda was the winner six times, followed by Felix Fernandes who kept the challenge going by ringing the bottle five times.
Another trilling sport was the Volley Ball Tournament for men, which was won by the “Sharavathi Friends” team and Runners up "Agility Team". The Tug of War was played by men with so much enthusiasm, and Boom Boom Boys struggled their way to victory.
The in house preparation of a sumptuous lunch with variety of dishes, was relished by everyone present at the gathering.
The award ceremony was graced by the presence of our Ex-President Mr. Joseph L. D'Souza as the Guest of honor, along with his spouse Mrs. Elvira D’Souza. In his speech, Mr. D’Souza appreciated the works of the association, and applauded the committee members for their dedicated efforts in unitedly working towards various causes that the association is undertaking to lend a helping hand to the less fortunate ones. The President of NKA-K Mr. John Fernandes, Agility, acknowledged the sponsors for their contribution towards the association in all these years, and sincerely thanked Agility, who have been supporting NKA-K generously, year after year.
Mrs. Marita delivered the vote of thanks and expressed gratitude to our noble sponsors for their philanthropic deeds. Mr. Laxminarayan Batho - Operations Manager, Agility, Mr. Ayyoub Kachery - MD, Grand Hyper Market, Al Othman & Al Bisher Trading Co., Arabian Beverages Co., Mr. Rajesh Malani - GM of Al Ghanim and Al Maya Group, and NBTC Group (Naser Mohamed Al Baddah & Partner for General Contracting Company). Glenny Lopes briefed the audience on the charitable works carried out by NKA-K for 2019 and then made the announcement of the most awaited moment, the presentation of trophies and prizes to the winners.
The winning team of cricket was the Boom Boom Boys who bagged the Winner's Golden Trophy and a cash prize and the Runners Up were Ave Maria, who received the Silver Trophy and a cash prize. The Best Bowler -Mr. Sayooj from Ave Maria team, Best Batsman - Mr. Yousuf from Boom Boom Boys, Man of the Match- Mr. Imran from Boom Boom Boys, Man of the Series- Krishna from Boom Boom Boys, were all awarded trophies.
As the sun set on the horizon and the chilly breeze started to blow, piping hot beverages with a variety of snacks were offered to everyone, the program ended with a note of thanks by Glenny Lopes to all those attended and participated in various tournaments, without whom the sports day wouldn’t have been possible.