It was a festive atmosphere at Punjabi University as the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy, which the university had won for 2011 and 2012, was brought to the campus on Monday.
Amid fanfare, beating of 'dhols' and bursting of crackers, university teachers, administrative officers, students and research scholars received the coveted trophy, which was brought in an open vehicle.
Vice-chancellor Jaspal Singh and director, sports, Raj Kumar Sharma had received the trophy from President Pranab Mukherjee on August 31.
Hundreds of students of different departments gathered to catch a glimpse of the trophy won by the university for the fifth time. The university had earlier won MAKA Trophy in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
The university was awarded Rs 10 lakh along with a replica of MAKA Trophy. Punjabi University secured 53,590 marks, followed by Kurukshetra University (33,715) and Guru Nanak Dev University (31,955 marks).
Earlier, presiding over the annual general body meeting of the sports committee in Senate Hall, the V-C said the real credit of winning the trophy goes to players, particularly those belonging to the rural areas, who toiled hard despite the paucity of funds and lack of international or even national standard facilities and infrastructure.
"They, along with their coaches, have compensated for all these scarcities through sheer hard work, dedication and commitment for their respective sports. It's now for us to compensate them in whatever way possible," he said.
{{/usCountry}}"They, along with their coaches, have compensated for all these scarcities through sheer hard work, dedication and commitment for their respective sports. It's now for us to compensate them in whatever way possible," he said.
{{/usCountry}}However, he did not make any announcement on the occasion. The V-C said the university has now attained such a status in the world of university games that its name will always be mentioned whenever it comes to awarding MAKA Trophy.
Congratulating players and coaches, director, sports, Raj Kumar Sharma said 22 teams secured first position in different sports disciplines during the inter-university championships, while 26 teams finished second followed by eight teams, who grabbed third spot, in 2012-2013.
He said 15 players from the university represented India in different disciplines.
"The university sportspersons had managed to win 161 medals in the national and six medals in the international-level championships," he added.