KOCHI: Rain played spoilsport on the first day of the 24th CBSE Inter-School Athletics Meet being held at Maharaja’s College stadium and St Albert’s College ground. The meet, which is being hosted by Perumbavoor Pragathi Academy, was inaugurated by the Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers V D Sadananda Gowda.
In his inaugural address, the minister said, “Taking part in sports events will strengthen students to face future challenges.” According to him, the power of youth will make the country one among the mightiest in the world. “The Prime Minister has a lot of expectations from youngsters,” he added.
Though the meet started on a high note, torrential rain led to the cancellation of many events. With over 4,000 students from CBSE schools all over the state taking part in the meet, the time required to conduct each event exceeded the time limit, said the organisers.
“Multiple heats had to be conducted. Rain made matters worse. We had to extend events into the break session and had to continue some events despite heavy shower,” said the organisers. Only three events could be held on the first day. The meet concludes on Saturday.
“The schedule has become very tight. We will have to finish maximum events on Friday. Since only three events were conducted on Thursday, even the points tally cannot be released,” they said. According to the organisers, chances are high that if the weather continues to be the same on Friday, the closing ceremony will have to be shifted to Sunday.