54th Inter-IIT Sports Meet flags off at IIT Kharagpur

The 54th Inter-IIT Sports Meet 2019, India's biggest inter-college sporting event, flagged-off at the IIT Kharagpur on Saturday. Founded by the government of India in 1951, it is the first of the IITs to be established and is recognised as an Institute of National Importance. Spanning across an area of 2100 acres, IIT Kharagpur sports community welcomed all the other sister IITs with a true sportsman spirit.

The Inter-IIT Sports Meet will feature tussle between all the 23 IITs across the country in their aim to be the best across 12 different disciplines of sports and games. The event was inaugurated in the august presence of Prof. Sriman Kumar Bhattacharya, Director, IIT Kharagpur; Prof. Rajiv Shekhar, Director, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad, along with other dignitaries of IIT Kharagpur.

The Convener of the meet, Prof. William Kumar Mohanty, addressed the audience, followed by an address of Prof. Somesh Kumar, Dean of Student Affairs, IIT Kharagpur. The flag was hoisted by the Director, IIT Kharagpur, which heralded the commencement of the 54th inter IIT Sports Meet. This was followed by an oath-taking ceremony, marshalled by the General Secretaries, Sports & Games, along with the official march past, followed by various cultural programs presented by the campus students. The ceremony culminated with the national anthem.

Roundup of Matches

The first day witnessed plenty of exhilarating clashes in men's and women's basketball and men's cricket.

Cricket

IIT Kharagpur subdued IIT Bhubaneswar in a one-sided match. Batting first, IIT Kharagpur notched up 147 runs at the loss of no wickets, and bowled out IIT Bhubaneswar for 46 runs, winning the match by 101 runs. In another one-sided clash, IIT Hyderabad, bowling first, triumphed over IIT Palakkad by 9 wickets. IIT Palakkad could manage only 43 before they were bowled out by the robust bowling lineup of IIT Hyderabad, and IIT Hyderabad subsided the target in just 5.4 overs at the loss of a single wicket. A close battle ensued between IIT Jammu and IIT BHU. IIT BHU posted a target of 137 runs at the loss of 8 wickets. IIT Jammu, closely fighting back, fell short of the target by 26 runs, as they were all out, courtesy to the tight bowling by IIT BHU.

Women's Basketball

IIT Madras prevailed over IIT Hyderabad, triumphing with a score of 26-10. IIT Gandhinagar outran IIT Bhilai completely, with a score of 33-4. IIT BHU emerged as clear winners in a one-sided clash with IIT Guwahati, which ended in a score of 38-7 in IIT BHU's favour. IIT Patna scooped the match against IIT Ropar with a scoreline of 24-11. In a closely contested match involving IIT Jodhpur and IIT Bhubaneswar, the score tilted in IIT Jodhpur's favour, as they eked out a 28-22 win. IIT Dhanbad won 27-5 against IIT Tirupati. The phenomenal clashes witnessed were between IIT Roorkee versus IIT Bombay, and IIT Delhi versus IIT Kanpur. The first was swept by Roorkee 36-20, while the second IIT Delhi demolish IIT Kanpur 56-9.

Men's Basketball

IIT Kharagpur overwhelmed IIT Patna and triumphed with a scoreline of 66-47. IIT Roorkee was successful in overcoming IIT Jammu, with a score of 69-35. In another awaited clash, IIT Madras tamed IIT Guwahati with a scoreline of 54-34, while in another match, IIT Tirupati skittled out against IIT Mandi, as the score of 57-40 went in IIT Mandi's favour.