FATORDA: A crowd of around 12,000 people, which included students from various schools across Goa, cheered and filled the air with excitement when Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared open the 37th National Games at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium at Fatorda on Thursday evening.
The school students were given banners and whistles which they incessantly blew right through the function. It was a constant through most of the function even as artistes performed. The highlight of the evening was the performance by renowned playback singer Hema Sardesai, who sang her heart out
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As Hema sang her hits, her performance received a huge response from the young audience. The Prime Minister went around the stadium in a decorated ‘Rath’ (a vehicle designed particularly for the event) waving out to the audience.
Another dramatic element was the spectacular fireworks display that happened on the roof of the stadium.
Playback singer Sukhwinder Singh was the other big artiste who held fort at the event. He sang his popular hits from various popular movies. Many whistled with great enthusiasm.
The only time the audience held their breath was when the gymnast while in the air held her poise and passed the torch to Goa’s sailing champion Katya Coelho and Harmanpreet Singh, the gold medal winning captain of the hockey team at the recently held Asian Games. They, in turn, ran across the field and handed it over to the Prime Minister.
The march past by the various participating teams was warmly received though the team of the day was undoubtedly Goa. The State team was warmly received by the crowd, tickled no doubt by the fact that a gold was won by a Goan athlete earlier in the day.
The start was typically Goan meaning heartfelt and enthusiastic, now let’s hope for its athletes to continue and sustain that spirit.
