Anantnag: Legendary Sachin Tendulkar and World T20 winner Irfan Pathan hailed the 19 Rashtriya Rifles of the Indian Army's Northern Command for successfully organising a Women's Cricket League in Dooru Town of Anantnag district.
NGO Aseem Foundation partnered with the Indian Army which was held with an aim to promote women's cricket and re-energising the sports activities in Jammu & Kashmir, stagnant for almost six months due to the COVID-forced lockdown.
"It was a knockout league, in which 4 teams hailing from Dooru, Anantnag and Kulgam participated. League matches were held on October 14 while the final was played on Wednesday. In total, over 70 women participated in the games," a press release stated.
This initiative was also supported by Rubiya Sayyed from Anantnag and senior journalist Sunandan Lele.
Col Dharmendra Yadav from the Northern Command lauded the performances of participants.
"I would congratulate the 19 Rashtriya Rifles of the Indian Army and Aseem Foundation for organising the tournament. I would laud all the women cricketers, who trained hard and took part in this tournament. The beauty of sport is that it knows no gender. It only sees your talent and hard work," Tendulkar said in a video message.
"Indian women's team is one of the best in the world and who knows one among these women will soon represent the country," Tendulkar said.
Pathan, who has been a mentor for Jammu and Kashmir's senior state team, on his part said that this novel initiative is a step in unearthing new talent from the region.
"I have spent a lot of time and I can vouch that there is no dearth of talent in the region. I would like to thank the 19RR and Aseem Foundation for giving these women an opportunity," the former all-rounder said.