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IIM Indore’s annual sports fest Ranbhoomi was held at the Institute from January 19-21, 2018. The inauguration took place in presence of Ms. Veena Arora, an international Taekwondo champion, and Ms. Leena Duwadi, the editor-in-chief of WittyFeed. The chief guests were felicitated by Professor G. Venkat Raman, Chair, IPM.
Ms. Veena Arora is a strong and inspiring beacon in the field of sports. She won the Gold (K 44) medal in the Fifth Para-Taekwondo National Championship, 2017, Bronze in the Asian Para-Taekwondo Open Championship 2016 and came 5th in the Asian Para Games, 2014. Addressing the huge gathering of more than 500 participants from colleges across the nation, Ms. Arora said, ‘At the age of 37, when people think of retirement from sports, I started my sports journey defying all biases of gender and age.’ She encouraged the students to keep learning, stay focused and motivated and keep dreaming to achieve their goals.
The inaugural ceremony also witnessed a mesmerizing dance performance by Ms. Chandrakshi Jain, a renowned dancer and artist.
The three day fest saw a huge participation in a wide range of sport events throughout the weekend, including football, basketball, cricket, badminton, chess, powerlifting, squash, arm wrestling, volleyball, kabaddi and many more. Along with the organized sports events, informal events such as LAN gaming, street cricket, etc. also took place.
Ranbhoomi 2018 not only promoted fitness, it also aimed to bring a positive change in the society. This year’s social cause was Gender Equality. The fest had already conducted various events to promote gender equality.
The finals of most sports saw a neck-to-neck fight. The best of the best conquered the Ranbhoomi field, constantly leaving the audience with a bated breath. Mini marathon, a recent addition to Ranbhoomi, was a great success and saw a participation of over 150 students from classes 7-9. The participants were required to run a distance of 3km and some finished the marathon at an excellent time of 9 minutes. All participants were given sponsored goodies.
The Open Women’s Singles Badminton event witnessed a surprising victory of a 14-year-old girl Devyani Chouhan from Indore who made her way up to the finals, defeating several experienced players, and finally winning second place.
Another sport that saw a huge participation was Chess – which had 100+ participants ranging from 5 to 25-year olds.
On the informal front, Ranbhoomi had organised street cricket, street football, kabaddi and other such games which brought back the childhood of many. The participants also enjoyed other informal events held all over the IIM Indore campus throughout the three days.
The three-day affair concluded with prize distribution at the closing ceremony. The closing ceremony started off with an invocation song by Ms. Samruddhi Bhise and a dance by Ms. Vinetha TV. Prizes worth over ₹2 lakhs were given away to winners of various sports. The prizes were distributed by the co-ordinators of the event. The participants left after having a good time and with a promise of coming back stronger next year.
Just as expected, Ranbhoomi made these three days memorable to everyone who attended. Not only were the participants involved in a battle of strength and agility, but they were also a part of all the informal activities. Ranbhoomi hopes to grow in the next year and get better in the years to come.
