Football tourney kicks off at Khad village

Our Correspondent

Una, December 26

The five-day 63rd Pandit Mohan Lal Datt Memorial Football Tournament began at Khad village of Una district today. The annual tournament attracts teams from the northern states and is organised in the memory of former Santoshgarh (now Haroli) MLA Mohan Lal Datt, who hailed from Khad village and represented the segment from 1952 to 1967.

About 500 players of 30 teams from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir are participating.

Haroli block Congress President Ranjit Rana said the tournament began in 1952 under the patronage of the late MLA and since then it is organised every year. He said Khad village was the nursery for football players in the state and had given many national and international players.

Rana said with the efforts of Haroli MLA and Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, a football academy was being setup in the village at a cost of Rs91 lakh, where budding players would have the facility of boarding and lodging.