Bhubaneswar, 02 February 2024: Nua-O State Volleyball tournament, organised by the Sports and Youth Services Department, Government of Odisha, concluded in Bhubaneswar on Friday.
In the men’s category, Balasore emerged as the champions of the tournament with a 3-1 win over Jajpur in the final, while Kendrapara secured third place with a 3-2 win over Puri.
Champions Balasore were awarded Rs 2 lakh, Runners-up Jajpur were given Rs 1 lakh, while Rs 50,000 each were given to Kendrapara and Puri respectively for finishing as 2nd Runners-up.
Pabitra Mohan Giri from Balasore was named Best Player of the Tournament and awarded Rs 10,000.
Meanwhile, in the Women’s category, Khordha clinched the title with a 3-0 win over Jagatsinghpur. Kendrapara finished third with 3-0 win over Mayurbhanj to finish third.
Khordha were awarded Rs 2 lakh cash prize for winning the tournament, while Jagatsinghpur were given Rs 1 lakh. Kendrapara (3rd place) and Mayurbhanj (4th place) were each given Rs 50,000.
Shibani Priyadarshini of the Khordha team won the Best Player of the Tournament award and was given Rs 10,000 for her performance.
Sushama Nanda, Coach, Khordha women’s team said, “Nua-O is a great initiative by the Government of Odisha. It will help players develop their game from the grassroots and I believe through this initiative, Odisha will get good players in future.”
Gaganendu Dash, Director General, Sports, KIIT; Sri Lalatendu Mishra, Director of Sports, KIIT & KISS; Swarupnanda Sahu, OSD, DSYS and Swarup Nandan Behera, OSD, DSYS graced the closing ceremony and handed out the awards.
