By Our Correspondent
DUBAI/BHUBANESWAR: The 9th edition of Odisha Cup Cricket Tournament, the world’s largest Prabasi Odia Cricket Tournament was inaugurated in United Arab Emirates on 2 October, 2022. The Odisha Cup 2022 season kicked off with a commemorative match between 2 teams of seniors – Odia Gladiators Dubai and Odisha Samaj Abu Dhabi Seniors. The match was played at grounds of the Australian International School in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Since its inception in 2013 , this year’s tournament is its biggest ever edition with 12 teams participating.The chief guest at the match was senior diplomat Mr. Uttam Chand, Consul (Visa and Community Affairs), Indian Consulate, Dubai. In his inaugural remarks he congratulated the organizers of Odisha Cup and complimented the spirit of the organizers who have kept organizing the tournament despite severe handicaps (Covid 19 etc.). He assured the support of the Indian Consulate in all efforts which bind the community and promote the welfare of community members.
Mr. Priyadarshee Panigrahi, Odisha Cup advisor and Senior Business Management Professional, in his address mentioned that this was largest Odia Cricket Tournament in the World (outside India) and it was a remarkable achievement. He said that for the first time, a senior diplomat from the Indian Consulate (Mr. Uttam Chand) has attended the function. This in itself was a great honour and recogniztion for the efforts of the organizers and players.
Mr. Amiya Kumar Mishra, another advisor of the Odisha Cup and President of the Odisha Samaj UAE, in his speech congratulated the winning team and lauded the spirit of the players who had come from Abu Dhabi and other far off regions to play in this commemorative match.
Other notable guests were Captain Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, CEO, International Shipping & Logistics Fze and noted Odia Entrepreneur and MD of Turbopower Engineering LLC, Sailaj Das.
Rajat Rath, captain of Odia Gladiators Dubai and Abdur Rauf, captain of Odisha Samaj Abu Dhabi Seniors faced each other for the toss, which was won by Odia Gladiators and Rajat chose to bat first. Odia Gladiators scored 154 runs in the allotted 18 overs, however Odisha Samaj Abu Dhabi fell short of the target in their chase. They made 115 runs with a loss of 7 wickets in their stipulated 18 overs. Odia Gladiators Dubai won the match by 39 runs.
Notable scorers were Dipti for Odia Gladiators Dubai (41 runs off 20 balls) and Pravat Sahoo for Odisha Samaj Abu Dhabi Seniors (30 runs off 15 balls). But it was Bikash Agarwal’s all-round performance with bat and ball that earned him the title of ‘Man of the Match’. He scored 24 runs off 11 balls and took three crucial wickets.
The match was held in a carnival type atmospthere and it was a fun and exciting weekend for all of the Odia families who attended the event. A special attraction was the serving of traditional Odia foods at the venue.
Odisha Cup has become a vital and core core part of Odias residing in the United Arab Emirates over the years. Prabasi Odias look forward to watching this tournament in person and keenly follow the matches. It’s an excellent platform for people to showcase their sporting talents since it provides equal opportunities. The competition promotes sportsmanship and brotherhood among the community members.
Senior members Rajat Rath, Sambram Pattanayak, Nirlipta Mohanty, Sujit Samal, Susant Jena, and Krushna Prusty have been involved with the competition from its start and were associated with the match either as organizers or players. Some even joined through videoconferencing platforms.
Other key Odisha Cup members like Abanikanta Patro, Dev Mishra, Sujit Khatua, Chinmay Kumar Jena, Syed Ali, and Amriten Chaterjee expressed their immense joy in the tournament’s kickstarting. They said they are paritcularly excited because this year’s edition is the largest one in the tournament’s history with 12 teams participiating.
