Muscat: Indian School Muscat hosted the CBSE Oman Cluster Athletic Meet on the school grounds on Friday, October 18, 2019 and Saturday, October 19, 2019 with much fervour. The intense spirit witnessed on day one was kept alive on the second day too, when the athletes competed against each other in the true spirit of sportsmanship. A feeling of euphoria had gripped every participant, when they partook in every event, whether individual or team. The excitement was palpable in the air all day through. 

Mr. Irshad Ahmed, First Secretary, (Community Welfare), Embassy of India, graced the occasion as the Chief Guest and Mr. Ajith Panicker, Director,  Board of Directors, Indian Schools in Oman was the Guest of Honour for the closing ceremony of the prestigious athletic meet. They were accompanied by Mr. Ajay Kummar J, President, SMC, Vice President cum Chairperson of Sports and Co-curricular-  SMC , Convener- SMC, Principal- Dr Rajeev Kumar Chauhan, Senior Vice Principal, ( Administration ), Vice Principals and Asst. Vice Principals. The dignitaries were accorded a warm welcome by Joshua Jimmy, Asst. Head Boy in his welcome address.

Success is where preparation and opportunity meet. The participants from Indian schools in Oman beautifully demonstrated this through their skills in the tournament. The winners of the tournament will go for the nationals at Allons Public School, Bemtara, Chhatisgarh.

Students of Indian School Muscat displayed exemplary performance on the track to secure the coveted position of the Overall Winners with 346 points. Indian School Salalah got the Overall Runners up position having secured 215 points. 

Indian School Ibra was the winner in the Under 14 Boys’ category with 33 points and Indian School Darsait was the Runners Up in the Under-14 Boys’ Category with 30 points. In the Under-14 Girls’ Category Indian School Darsait emerged as the winner with 35 points and the Runners up was Indian School Muscat with 24 points.

The Under 17 Boys’ category was won by Indian School Muscat with 79 points and Indian School Salalah was the Runners Up with 51 points in this category.

Indian School Nizwa emerged as the winner in the Under 17 Girls category having secured 70 points and the Runners Up in this category was Indian School Muscat with 67 points.

The Under 19 Boys’ Category winner was Indian School Muladha with 79 points and Indian School Muscat was adjudged the Runners Up with 65 points. In the Under -19 Girls’ Category Indian School Muscat won with 87 points and the Runners Up was Indian School Salalah with 44 points.

The Chief Guest in his address stressed upon the fact that a proper balance must be struck between academics and sports. He reiterated the relevance of the age old saying ‘Health is Wealth’.  The Guest of Honour in his speech brought out the importance of sports in our lives and how good health and well-being are deeply entrenched in our pursuit of happiness. 

The sounding of the Last Post marked the closure of the event. The flag was reverentially lowered by Mr. Johns Abraham, athletic coach for the last 23 years and handed over to the winners of the Bronze Medal in the 4x100m relay, Antonio Thomas, Steve Lobo, Naman Rao and Rishikesh Menon in the CBSE National Athletic Meet, 2018-19 held in Bangalore. It was in turn handed over to the Chief Guest. The flag was then accepted by the Principal in all solemnity from the Chief Guest and handed over to the Head of Department, Physical Education, for safe keeping till the commencement of the next sporting season.

The Principal, Indian School Muscat, Dr Rajeev Kumar Chauhan congratulated all the winners, their coaches and participants for the impressive accomplishments. He added that a strong spirit of participation was the most important success of the Cluster games.