Brijesh Patel urges govt to promote sports

Karnataka State Cricket Association Secretary Brijesh Patel on Friday said all government departments should promote sports by recruiting athletes on a regular basis.

He was speaking at the inauguration of 27th National Land Survey Day, organised the by Survey and Land Records Department.

The Forest Department is promoting talented athletes in various sporting disciplines. Other government departments should follow suit, said the former India batsman. He said people should take up sports as it would help them improve their physical fitness and mental health.

Former India cricketers Anil Kumble and Srinath are engineers by profession. They have juggled well between sports and studies, and have brought laurels to the country with their stellar performances, Patel added.

Krishnamurthy Gopal, Additional Director, Survey and Land Records Department, said the interest among government employees in sports was diminishing.

Patel was all praise for  India captain M S Dhoni holding his nerves to help his side pull off an improbable win in all-important World T20 match against Bangladesh. Dhoni reads the situation well, he said.

He has this uncanny knack of extracting good performance from youngsters under pressure. He reposed faith on a rookie Hardik Pandya and the Gujarat all-rounder didn’t disappoint his captain, Patel said on that nail-biting final over.