58th Annual Sports Meet Celebrated at St. Xavier’s College
St. Xavier’s College had its 58th Annual Sports meet for the academic year 2023-24 on Saturday, the 24th of February 2024 on the College Football ground. The Chief Guest for the event was an alumnus of the College, Mr. Tushar Lotlikar, Police Inspector, Ponda Police Station, Goa. Upon his arrival the Chief Guest was welcomed by the Principal, Prof. Dr. Blanche Mascarenhas; the Administrator, Rev. Fr. Antonio Salema; the Vice Principals, Ms. Ursula Barreto and Ms. Sandra Fernandes; the Director of Physical Education of the College, Ms. Joslyn D’Souza, the Instructors in Physical Education, Ms. Astrid Pereira and Mr. Roger Fernandes, and the esteemed members of the faculty. The Chairperson of the St. Xavier’s College PTA, Ms. Patricia D’Souza was also present at the Meet.
In his welcome address, the Administrator, Rev. Fr. Antonio Salema expressed great joy at having Chief Guest, Ponda PS PI Tushar Lotlikar, to his alma mater. Fr Antonio highlighted the fact that the college has excelled and emerged victorious in sports under the guidance of Ms. Joslyn D’Souza, ably aided by the sports instructors Ms. Astrid Pereira and Mr. Roger Fernandes. He stated that the sports meet was a time to celebrate achievements, wins and losses, joys and tears, and knowing that participation has not only brought laurels but also boosted health and promoted camaraderie among sports persons. In her address, Principal Prof. Dr. Blanche Mascarenhas underlined that education is not merely academics, but holistic development of a student. While many find it difficult to balance academics and sports, Prof. Dr. Blanche Mascarenhas pointed out that the Chief Guest excelled at both academics and sports, while he was a student, and has become a valuable government official in public administration.
This was followed by an impressive marching display by the students of the College. The Chief Guest and the Principal took the salute. The Parade Commander of the march past was Senior Under Officer, Mr. Shresth Fadte, an NCC Cadet who has always shown exceptional dedication, and devotion in leadership, discipline and community service at NCC, besides having been a member of the marching contingent at the 2024 Republic Day Parade at Rajpath, New Delhi. The march past was followed by the torch relay. The torchbearers for the day were our sportspersons Ms. Keona Rajani, an SYBA student, a Kite boarding gold winner at the national level; Ms. Doris Goves, an FYBSc student, a gold medal winning sportsperson at athletics and other sports; Ms. Sukanya Naik, an SY BCom student, a bronze medallist at Lagori; and Ms. Chanel Crizzle, an FYBA Mass Comm student, a member of the Indian Rugby contingent. They all carried the torch onto the sports ground and handed it to the Chief Guest and later lit the Games torch. The sportsman’s oath was then recited by Mr. Harsh Bhagat (SYBSc), followed by the sportsman’s prayer recited by Ms. Richa Gawade (SYBA). At this juncture, the Chief Guest formally declared the 58th Annual Sports Meet open. The opening of the sports meet was also marked with a release of balloons in the colours of the national flag.
Speaking of the impressive achievements of the College sportspersons, the Director of Physical Education of the College, Ms.Joslyn D’Souza,in her Sports report, informed the gathering that St. Xavier’s college was awarded the best college in sports for the year 2022-23and that the College remains on course to take the coveted award yet again, for the current academic year, as the college has bagged the first place in women’s table tennis, women’s volleyball, women’s basketball, men’s handball, hockey in both categories and men’s power lifting. The women’s football team, women’s swimming team, men’s basketball team and women’s basketball team finished second this year, while the women’s bagged third place in athletics, and the men’s swimming team also finished in the same position. Listing out the moments of glory, Ms. Joslyn D’Souza read out the list of the sports stars that have won accolades at the international and national level.
The Chief Guest, Ponda PI Mr. Tushar Lotlikar, expressed his pleasure at being present as a chief guest at his alma mater. PI Mr. Tushar reminisced about his days as a sports person at Xavier\’s HSS and College where he excelled in athletics and football. He thanked the sports directors of that era as well as the teachers for supporting sports persons. PI Tushar also offered pearls of wisdom to the students in attendance, \”I would like to remind the students that sports is not only about winning or losing, but participation is more important. With sports, you become fitter, you become more healthier, and you become leaders in the future.\”
The student sportspersons from the College who participated in the National Games 2023 were felicitated at the hands of the Principal. The management prizes were then presented at the hands of the Chief Guest. The late P.V. Tharakan award given to an all-rounder in different modalities of sports was given to Mr. Nathan D’Souza (TYBCA). The Mr. Clyde Dias Sports Prizes given to students with best performance in sports was secured by Mr. Kaushik Sakhalkar (TYBA), Mr. Sohit Naik (TYBCom) and Ms. Chrisann Noronha (TYBCA). The Best Sportsman 2023-24 award went to Mr. Sohan Naik (TYBCom) and the Best Sportswoman 2023-24 award was won by Ms. Anoshka D’Souza (TYBCom). The Best Athlete (Men) was won by Mr. Maven Santiago (SYBA) and Best Athlete (Women) was secured by Ms. Chanel Crizzle (FYBA Mass Comm). Students who participated in various national level competitions were also felicitated.
The Sports Meet saw various sprint events, drills and cheering squads performing for the benefit of all. The Vote of Thanks was given by the Sports Secretary Mr. Fluino Carvalho. The College Sports Flag was then lowered by the NCC Cadets. It was folded by them and handed over to the Principal. The Principal, then, handed it over to the Sports Director for safekeeping, till the next College Sports meet. The event concluded with the singing of the national anthem.