CHENNAI: A colourful marchpast by enthusiastic students and a choreographed aerobics show were the highlights of the 23rd annual sports day of MOP Vaishnav College for Women held at the University Union grounds on Monday.
Dr S Sundararaj, Minister for Sports and Youth Welfare, Government of Tamil Nadu, presided over the function and addressed the students and staff.
“We are moving towards an age where education is not just about marks, but also about health and fitness,” said Sundararaj, lauding the college for recognising this. The minister felicitated Aparajita Balamurugan of first year MBA (silver in squash) and Aishwarya Nedunchezhiyan of second year BA sociology (bronze in sailing), who won medals at the Asian Games.
MOP sportswomen who performed well at the recent National Games in Kerala were also recognised. G Gayathri, a PhD scholar in commerce, who won the gold medal in 100m hurdles, setting a new meet record, was awarded the BS Raghavan Endowment Prize for top individual performance in athletics. Also awarded was Sandhya Winfred, who won bronze in rifle shooting at the National Games. The college presented awards to six international players, 19 national-level players, 76 state-level players and 54 university-level players. Dr V Mahadevan, director of physical education, University of Madras, was guest of honour.