Bhubaneswar : Odisha students have achieved notable success at the 69th National School Games Under-17 Softball Championship, held at Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh. In this national-level competition, the Odisha team secured the bronze medal. Odisha clinched the third position by defeating Punjab by 3–0 runs. The championship was conducted from February 4 to February 8.
A 16-member team from Odisha participated in the tournament under the Odisha State School Sports Association, functioning under the School and Mass Education Department. Appreciating the team’s performance, Birendra Karkara, Director, Secondary Education stated that this remarkable achievement would inspire young sporting talents of the state to attain greater success at the national and international levels in the future.
Under the guidance of coach Bibhudatta Rath, the Odisha team was led by Captain Raju Pidishika and Vice-Captain Tarini Pradhan, with the team members being Jayant Kumar Mahanta, Rajesh Pradhan, Sujan Baske, Sonu Kartami, Soumya Ranjan Jena, Sudam Kardaka, Swagat Dang, Guru Prasad Mallik, Pragnan Sahu, Amulya Debnath, Divyajyoti Jena, Rudrapratap Barik, Shubhashish Debnath, and Dharmendra Pidishika, who all participated in the championship and contributed to Odisha’s bronze medal success.
The School and Mass Education Department has congratulated the players for their outstanding achievement. The young athletes were also welcomed and felicitated by Bandana Mahapatra, Additional Director, Phulmani Murmu, Joint Director, Jyoti Prasad Parida, Assistant Director (Physical Education) and Ranjan Kumar Dash, Editor, OSTA who extended their best wishes for the players’ future endeavors.
