Every District In Maharashtra To Have Dedicated Halls For Fencing – Satej Patil  

Kolhapur, 23rd October 2021: To accord fencing players opportunities to represent at the national and international level and give a boost to the fencing, dedicated halls for the fencing is being made available in five districts across the Maharashtra state. 

While making the announcement, the Minister of State Satej Patil, who is the president of the Fencing Association of Maharashtra and vice president of Fencing Association of India, said that the funding for these halls will be done from the District Annual Planning allocation and by Maharashtra Fencing Association.

Patil was speaking at the inauguration of the 32nd State Level Senior Fencing Championship Competition at Rajmata Jijau Saheb Multipurpose Auditorium at Shivaji University. The inauguration of the 32nd State Level Senior Fencing Championship Competition organised jointly by Maharashtra Fencing Association; Shivaji University, Kolhapur; DY Patil Deemed University, Kolhapur and Kolhapur Fencing Association was done by Patil along with Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj. 

The function was attended by Dr DT Shirke, vice Chancellor, Shivaji University, Dr Rakesh Kumar Mudgal, Vice Chancellor, DY Patil Deemed University; Dr PS Patil, Vice Chancellor, Pro Vice Chancellor, Shivaji University; Dr Shimpa Sharma, Pro Vice Chancellor, DY Patil Deemed University; Sanjay Sabnis, Deputy Director, Sports; District Sports Officer among others.

Minister of State, Maharashtra; President, Fencing Association Shri Satej Patil said, “The competitions have resumed again after the lockdown. Kolhapur which is known as the land of Prowess has got the pride of organising the state level fencing competition. The competition being held in Kolhapur will give the national level team to represent the state and we are proud about it. 24 players will be selected from this competition for the national level competition being held in Patiala. We expect the players to exhibit their skills to proudly represent the state at national level. The players selected from this competition will represent the state solo and team categories. I wish all the players best luck.”

The minister assured that the Association will leave no stone unturned to accord the glory to fencing in the state. He said that no player will lose the opportunity in the sport for financial reasons and the Association will adopt him and stand by him with solid support. He has also appealed to the sportsmen and experts from the field to suggest schemes and projects for the betterment and development of fencing. 

“Kolhapur has pioneered the idea and has become the first district to make funds available to the sports organizations in the district from the District Annual Planning funds. We are following up with other districts too for a similar implementation“, he said.

Shahu Maharaj said that the fencing has evolved over the years and has adapted the modern look by shedding its traditional avatar. “The state government should ensure facilities to the players to create players to represent the country in the Olympics. I am thankful to Guardian Minister Satej Patil for his initiative to ensure the facilities, ” he said.

Uday Dongre, Secretary of Maharashtra Fencing Association gave the information about the competition. The players to represent the state at the national level will be selected from 450 players that have participated in the competition. The competition is being organised in three categories Epee, Foil and Sabre and will culminate on Monday, he said.