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Doha, 21 May 2015; SPECTACULAR CLOSING CEREMONY TO A FANTASTIC CRICKET TOURNAMENT

Karnataka Muslim Cultural Association (KMCA), an ICC affiliate organization, unveiled their best so far of the extravagant display of well-planned ceremonies witnessed by a full house crowd on Thursday the 21st of May 2015 amidst fantastic finals match between the SKMWA XI v/s. TULUKOOTA XI.

In keeping with the theme of the Tournament, to rekindle the memories of one of the valiant sons of Mother India, the Mysore Tiger, Tipu Sultan, KMCA brought to life the glamour of the evening. Tipu along with his marchers, led a caravan of 8 Land-cruisers escorting the Chief Guests & Guests of Honor in a Rolls Royce. A befitting modern day chariot for the special guests.

The Indian hocket legend, Padmashree Zafar Iqbal acompanied by Mr. Munawwar Haziq was the Guests of Honor, Mr. Girish Kumar, President of ICC & Mr. K M Varghese, President of IBPN were the Chief Guests. The caravan made it through the ground and onto the pitch and the Guests were greeted by the KMCA President and the Executive Committee with the Two finalist teams lined up along the length of the Pitch. The Guest of Honor was led through the pitch, greeted by the players and onto the Red Carpet lined with Karnataka Flag Bearers on either sides. He briefly met with the ICC affiliated organization heads and dignitaries before being escorted to the stage to witness the second innings of the Finals. Tipu marched with his escorts to the designated darbar set up befitting his stature.

A spectacular finals unfolded as the SKMWA XI chased a respectable score of 113 runs set by the TuluKoota XI in 12 overs, who won the toss and elected to bat first. The match saw some towering sixers by either sides and SKMWA XI completed their successful chase in 9.4 overs with a final six to the cheer of the 500 odd crowd. A complete 360 entertainment for the sports enthusiasts packed into one evening at the Old Ideal Indian School Grounds.

The stage program of the closing ceremony commenced with the Recitation of the Noble Qur’An by Master Ahmed, s/o; Shakir Ahmed followed by a brief introduction to KMCA and its activities presented by the Master of the ceremony Mr. Ahmed Saeed Assadi. The Guests were formally greeted with Qatari dates presented by children of KMCA members. The KMCA Vice President, Mr. Saquib Raza Khan presented the welcome address to the dignitaries on the stage, the Chief Guests, Guests of Honor, The Sponsors, Mr. Hameed of AlFardan Exchange & Mr. Satish of QDC, the dignitaries off the stage and the spectators.

A felicitation of Padmashree Zafar Iqbal was undertaken by the KMCA Executive committee followed by a speech by the Guest of Honor where he appreciated the camaraderie of the Indians residing outside of India and in this instance he was overwhelmed by the honor bestowed upon him by the Indian residents in Qatar of Karnataka origin. He brought forth some of his memory from his playing days and how hardwork and dedication brought him to the national team. He had last visited Doha in 1984 and remembers playing at the Khalifa Stadium and has fond memories of that instance of his visit to Qatar. He congratulated the Winning team and the runners-up and the organisers, KMCA for creating the opportunity for the players to shine at the same time creating a stage for varied sporting personalities to be recognized.

The Chief guests Mr. Girish Kumar, President of ICC addressed the gathering next and commended KMCA for the extraordinary show and a successful 2nd Edition of Tipu Sultan Cup. He specially emphasized that ICC Affiliated organizations of Karnataka Origin are the most active in community engagement. Mr. K M Varghese, President of IBPN, congratulated KMCA and was delighted to be part of the well-organized function and promised continued support to such initiatives.

As a first, the Vote of Thanks was presented by the KMCA President, Mr. Niyaz Ahmed as he expressed that he was overwhelmed by the response and support he had received during the planning of the Tournament and felt the need to formally thank each and everyone himself. President Niyaz thanked the Chief Guests, the Guests of Honor for their earnest acceptance of invitation for the closing ceremony, the ICC affiliated organizations for participating with their teams in the tournament, Community leaders of different organizations - Ravi Shetty, Deepak Shetty, Abdul Majeed, Norbert Corda, V S Mannangi, Arun Kumar, Milan Arun, Ibrahim Byri, Prabhakar, Abdulla Monu, Seetharam Shetty, Ramchandra Shetty, Asmat Ali, Dr Sanjay Kudri, Alexis Catelino and community activist Iqbal Manna - were present on the occasion. He thanked the sponsors of the event:
M/s Alfardan Exchange
M/s Saad Alkaabi Steel & Aluminum Co Wll
M/s ALM Infrastructure Solution
M/s SBMK
M/s STS Group
M/s Diplomat Fire Systems
M/s Golden Trading
M/s Qatar Design Consortium
M/s Texas Technical Services
M/s Euro Parts
M/s Gibca Furniture UAE
M/s Stream Acoustic & Thermal
M/s Apollo Enterprises
M/s Hempel Paints – Qatar
M/s New Tradelinks LLC
and last but not the least the Executive committee of KMCA, the HBK team and the Tipu Himself for his two years running in a row.

The Prize Distribution followed with giving away of awards for the tournament officials, Umpires - Dr. Sanjay Kudri & Mr. Imthiyaz given away by Mr. Ravi Shetty, President of TuluKoota Qatar, The Scorers - Mr. Amjad & Mr. Anand Balu given away by Mr. Abdul Majeed, President of SKMWA, The Commentators - Mr. Habibunnabi, Mr. Ejaz Ahmed & Mr. Naveen given away by Mr. Nazeer Pasha, President of QISF and The Audio Technician cum DJs, the Father and Son Team of Mr. Anil Bolur & Master Krish who were given the awards by Mr. Deepak Shetty, President of KSQ.

The Next set of  Prizes were the individual trophies along with a cash voucher for the Runners-Up team and the Winning Team members.

The Man of the Match for the Finals Match was awarded to Imran from SKMWA XI for his unbeaten 50 runs, 1 wicket & a Catch.
The Man of the Tournament was bestowed with the BAT of the Tournament. KMCA, continuing the practice of introducing unique ideas, had a ceremonial bat signed by the guests of honour during the opening ceremony, Mr. Farman Basha & Ms. Sakina Khatun, the Paralympic power-lifters, and then passed on to all the players and later fixed on a podium. the bat was brought to Tipu Sultan by the sena pathi and Tipu handed the bat to the KMCA Sports Secretary Mr. Zia-ul-Haq as a ceremonial guesture of the honor it holds. The Bat was then signed by the Guest of Honor Padmashree Zafar Iqbal and presented to Namsheed from SKMWA XI who was ranked the all round best performer of the tournament by the match officials.

A Special recognition was bestowed by Zafar Iqbal upon Ms. Milan Arun for her ardent support to KMCA events, her mentoring of the KMCA Ladies Wing and especially for her detailed programming of the opening & closing ceremonies of the Tipu Sultan Cup.

The day ended with the giving away of the Runners-UP Team Trophy to TuluKoota XI, received by the Team Captain Mr. Ashmath Ali along with the TuluKoota President Mr. Ravi Shetty.

The Winners Team Trophy, the Tipu Sultan Cup was presented to the SKMWA XI Team Captain Mr. Kader along with SKMWA President Mr. Abdul Majeed.

 Scorers - Mr. Amjad & Mr. Anand Balu given away by Mr. Abdul Majeed, President of SKMWA, The Commentrators - Mr. Habibunnabi, Mr. Ejaz Ahmed & Mr. Naveen given away by Mr. Nazeer Pasha, President of QISF and The Audio Technician cum DJs, the Father and Son Team of Mr. Anil Bolur & Master Krish who were given the awards by Mr. Deepak Shetty, President of KSQ.

The Next set of  Prizes were the individual trophies along with a cash voucher for the Runners-Up team and the Winning Team members.

The Man of the Match for the Finals Match was awarded to Imran from SKMWA XI for his unbeaten 50 runs, 1 wicket & a Catch.
The Man of the Tournament was bestowed with the BAT of the Tournament. KMCA, continuing the practice of introducing unique ideas, had a ceremonial bat signed by the guests of honour during the opening ceremony, Mr. Farman Basha & Ms. Sakina Khatun, the Paralympic power-lifters, and then passed on to all the players and later fixed on a podium. the bat was brought to Tipu Sultan by the sena pathi and Tipu handed the bat to the KMCA Sports Secretary Mr. Zia-ul-Haq as a ceremonial guesture of the honor it holds. The Bat was then signed by the Guest of Honor Padmashree Zafar Iqbal and presented to Namsheed from SKMWA XI who was ranked the all round best performer of the tournament by the match officials.

A Special recognition was bestowed by Zafar Iqbal upon Ms. Milan Arun for her ardent support to KMCA events, her mentoring of the KMCA Ladies Wing and especially for her detailed programming of the opening & closing ceremonies of the Tipu Sultan Cup.

The day ended with the giving away of the Runners-UP Team Trophy to TuluKoota XI, received by the Team Captain Mr. Ashmath Ali along with the TuluKoota President Mr. Ravi Shetty.

The Winners Team Trophy, the Tipu Sultan Cup was presented to the SKMWA XI Team Captain Mr. Kader along with SKMWA President Mr. Abdul Majeed.