The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT-K), is hosting the 51st Inter-IIT Sports Meet from December 12 to 19, 2016. The games will officially begin from today, December 12, in the presence of KK Sharma, Delhi’s Chief Secretary, and former IAS officer; Devendra Jhajharia, Paralympic Javelin thrower, only Indian to win two Paralympic gold medals; and Varun Bhati, Paralympic High-Jumper, and won a bronze medal for India at Summer Paralympics Games 2016. Another attraction for today that the IITians are looking forward to, is a live performance by Indian Ocean, a rock band.
23 IITs are participating in the eight-day meet, competing in over a dozen events spanning 12 sports. Students from the 23 IITs are staying at IIT-K, and will compete in formal events like Cricket, Badminton, Squash etc, as well as informal events like Foosball, air-hockey etc. The games will be played at 20 different venues, both inside and outside the campus.
The institute standing first in the medal tally will win the General Championship trophy. There is a lot of excitement amongst the students this year, since IIT Madras, last year’s host, had to cancel the meet due to floods.
This year’s Sports Meet is special for IIT-K for two reasons, other than playing the host, they are also the defending champions. So far, as per the Inter-IIT Aquatics Meet 2016, IIT Madras is leading in the medal tally.
IITians come together for this Meet, to celebrate the spirit of sports, and the joy of friendship.