Amidst the conferences and cultural events, another category of events which further added to the charm of the Golden Jubilee celebrations was Sports. Several walks, marathons and inter-IIT sports events were organized throughout the year - a real treat for the sports enthusiasts.

The Staff Gymkhana organized a Golden Jubilee Walk under the leadership of Prof. A. K. Lal, Department of Mathematics and Statistics on 9th August 2009. About 1700 people turned up to participate.

The participants were divided into 3 groups, depending on the length of the walk.

• 2 km – Around 167 participants consisting of wards in the age group of 8-15 walked for 2 kms.
• 4 km – Around 304 participants comprising female students, campus ladies and retired employees were a part of this second group.
• 6 km – In the third and the last group the number crossed 1225. The category comprised male students, employees and the SIS personnel.

The very young, the middle aged as well as the old participated in this event to mark the vitality and energy of the Institute. After the completion of the walk, all participants were provided with light refreshments.

Prizes were distributed to the winners in different groups by Prof. Sanjay G. Dhande, Director, and Mr. S. S. Kashalkar, Registrar, IIT Kanpur. Five prizes instead of four were given in the age group of 8-15 in order to encourage the young participants to take part in future events. The event was a success due to the collective efforts of the Students’ Gymkhana, several of the Health Centre, the SIS and the Ground Staff at the main ground.

TOP

The Inter-IIT Staff Sports Meet is held annually every December.. It was a pleasure for IIT Kanpur to host the event during the GJ celebrations. Prof. Sanjay G. Dhande, Director, IITK and also the Chief Guest of the function, inaugurated the event.

For every sportsperson in IIT this event is an ultimate platform to showcase his/her sporting prowess. With its eye on the general championship every institute puts its players through a hard and rigorous selection and training program, as a result of which this Meet sees only the best competing for the trophy.

The IITs competed against each other in eight of the most popular sports of the country - Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Cricket, Table Tennis, Volleyball, Tennis, Football and a demo event of Chess, in both the individual and team based categories. IIT Kharagpur won the General Championship and IIT Kanpur bagged the silver. IITK also won the championship in both Badminton and Basketball. The prizes were distributed by Prof. R. K. Thareja, Deputy Director, IITK.

A medley of Bhojpuri and Awadhi songs in the versatile voice of Ms. Malini Awasthi, a popular folk singer, added more zing to the event.

TOP

An Ultramarathon, was organized as a tribute to the indomitable spirit of the Institute, on a bright and beautiful Sunday morning.
Adding further to the charm were the 800+ runners, dressed in beautiful T-shirts and raring to go. The Ultramarathon drew participants from all age groups and all sections of the community. There were professors, students, wives and children all up bright and early for the run, the first of which was flagged off at 6:15 AM.
The categories of the races were:

• 50 km Individual
• 42.2 km Individual
• 21 km Individual
• 10 km Individual - Open to all above the age of 10yrs
• 5 km Individual - Open to all above the age of 10yrs
• 2 km Individual - Below the age of 10yrs
• 50 km Relay Race - Allowed people to form teams to complete the distance

Many of the participants had undergone training. Some were seasoned professional runners while others were novices. But they all had one thing in common and that was the fervor to be a part of this extraordinary event. Along the course directions were drawn on the roads with chalk to guide the participants. Also, there were organizers stationed at various points to provide help, and cool drinks, if required. There was also no dearth of spectators who had come in plenty to cheer the heroes.

It was delightful to see the young and old run together for fun. The event was a salute to the spirit of IIT Kanpur. The marathon ended at 13:30pm and the closing ceremony was held in the main stadium with Prof. Sanjay G. Dhande, Director, IIT Kanpur giving away the prizes and certificates to the winners.

TOP

Over 1000 students, alumni, faculty and staff of IIT Kanpur rode their bicycles along the kaccha and pukka roads of rural Kanpur as part of the event that came to be called the Rural Bicycle Excursion. The tour was intended to promote a healthy, sustainable lifestyle and interaction between the IITK community and the rural community. It was organized by the Bumpy Trails bicycling group along with the IITK Adventure Club.

The tour began at 6:00am from the Students Activities Centre of the campus and ended at 3:00pm. There were two levels of the tour – a 65km loop for experienced riders and a 25 km loop for everyone else. There were several attractions along the two routes like the village of Lodhar where the NGO Jagriti runs a school, the famous Shobhan mandir, several beautiful and unusual bird species like Kingfishers, Pied Myna, little egrets, etc. As soon as the news reached the rural areas that the IITK techies would be passing by they all gathered to cheer the riders.

Thirteen volunteer stations were set up along the route to serve energy drinks and refreshments to the participants. Support vehicles were stationed at key points along the route. The district authorities were also informed about the tour and a number of police, civic, and health measures were put in place.

TOP

Since 1972 IIT Kanpur has been organizing annual cricket tournaments for its employees. The tournament is intended to develop a healthy relationship between the staff and the faculty members of the Institute. The event was inaugurated by Prof. Sanjay G. Dhande, Director, IITK at the ACES ground on 14th October, 2010 and the cricket fever continued unabated till 17th November, 2010.

The teams were named after renowned scientists like J. C. Bose, C. V. Raman, Ramanujam, Visveswariya, Sarabhai and Bhabha. And the matches were played on the weekends. The six teams were divided into two groups – Group A and Group B – with three teams in each group. A total of 9 matches were played.

The winner of the Golden Jubilee Cricket tournament was the C. V. Raman Team. Mr. Manohar Kanaujia won the Man of the Match title and Mr. Harish Vishwakarma was announced the Man of the Series. The honors of the closing ceremony were done by Prof. G. K. Lal, Ex-Deputy Director of IITK.

TOP

BACK To The Main Page