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New Delhi, 10th November 2013: The joy, enthusiasm and fervor was palpable in the air as more than 49000 students from 800 schools across India lined up to run the 19th edition of the Coca-Cola Salwan Cross Country Run, the world’s largest race for school children. It was a sight to behold as the excitement of the children reached fever pitch as the race started and stayed that way till the very end – the mood being truly infectious. A unique sporting event in India’s sporting calendar for school children, the run brings together students from various schools across India including a great many from the North-East, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh for the sheer joy of running, cutting across all boundaries and demographies. The race was made extra special with the participation of more than 1700 visually impaired and more than 250 differently-abled children, who with their energy, made the morning a truly special one.
Commenting on the completion of the 19th edition of the run, Mr. Inder Dutt Salwan, chief architect of the Salwan Cross Country Run said, “It is very encouraging to see the response from the students who have come together from various parts of the country to run and compete. We firmly believe that sports plays an integral part in the overall development of a student, hence we wish to drive home the point that sports curriculum in schools is important as well as avenues for professional growth of sports instructors.” He further added, “Students excelling at the marathon over the years have been from non-metro cities; and taking the cue we would like to take this race to other parts of the country next year, especially non-metros with the same level of emphasis on clean sports. We would also like to thank the Army Services Sports control board, the 4500 marshalls & volunteers, and specially the Delhi Police who have extended all their support to ensure that everything went off smoothly.”
Speaking at the event, Mr. Sumanta Datta, Vice President, Coca-Cola India and SWA said, “At Coca-Cola India, it has been our motto to promote Active, Healthy Living amongst the youth of the country. We believe that it is the support and encouragement provided at the grassroots level which is key to developing the future sports stars of this country. In this endeavor, we are proud to be associated with The Salwan Cross Country Run which has brought together talented young runners from all over the country. This run is a run for self-discovery and realizing ones potential in the face of every adversity. The participants have displayed great enthusiasm and shown some incredible abilities today. I wish them all the best for their future endeavors.”
The race this year was flagged off by Lt. General Rajiv Bhalla, SM, VSM (Director General – Military Training) and also witnessed participation by some special dignitaries, who were all an integral part of the celebrations. Indian Olympians Shiva Thapa, one of India’s most exciting young boxers and the youngest Indian to win a gold at the Asian Confederation Boxing Championship; KT Irfan, national record holder in the 20 km walk and MR Poovamma, one of the top runners in Asia in the 400m category, added more colour to the proceedings as they ran alongside visually impaired children as volunteers.
The marathon categorised participants in 8 different categories – visually impaired, intellectually challenged (4.5 kms), Under 14 Girls and Boys (4.5 kms), Under 16 Girls and Boys (6 kms) and Under 18 Girls and Boys races (8 kms).
In an effort to promote the principles of fair play, the organizers in association with SRL Limited, conducted age verification checks and dope tests on the top twenty winners across all categories to ensure a level playing field.
This year’s edition was tougher than previous years as a more challenging route had been defined. In an effort to reach out to everyone across the student community, the organizers had tied up with ‘Special Olympics Bharat’, British Council, UNICEF and the NGO ‘Butterflies’ to get differently-abled children, street kids and visually impaired children to participate in the 4.5 km run. The race this year was also supported by adequate police security and a large number of volunteers from the community including sports instructors.
