Chief Minister Siddaramaiah handed over a cheque of Rs. 1 crore to the organizers of the Kundyolanda Family Hockey Tournament held in Napoklu in 2024.
In the Kundyolanda Hockey Festival, 360 teams and a total of 4800 athletes participated, setting a Guinness World Record.
Virajpet MLA and Legal Advisor to the Chief Minister A. S. Ponnanna, Member of Parliament Ajay Maken, Medical Education Minister Dr. Sharanprakash Rudrappa Patil, Urban Development & Town Planning Minister Byrathi Suresh, Chief Secretary to the Government, Dr. Shalini Rajneesh, Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister L.K. Atheeq were present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that it is a matter of pride that the Kundyolanda Kodava Family Hockey Tournament has been included in the Guinness Book of Records.
Hockey is a popular sport amongst the Kodava people and it is commendable that the Kodava Family Hockey Tournament is being organized every year in Kodagu. Our country is the birthplace of the hockey wizards like Dhyan Chand. Not only Cricket, Hockey is also a very popular sport, the CM said and he wished that this tradition will continue in the future.
Kodava families in Kodagu district have been conducting the traditional family hockey tournament every year for the past 23 years, and many Kodavas have played in the National Hockey Team. The Chief Minister said that the state government has been providing all kinds of encouragement for the Hockey Festival.
The Chief Minister assured that all assistance will be provided to support the sport and the family hockey tournament to greater heights.
CLN spoke to the convener – Dinesh Cariappa, and the family who had travelled to Bangalore on this momentous occasion. The excitement and the pride was writ large on the faces of all the family members present. He was quick to give credit to all the family members and other volunteers who made this unique event a grand and record breaking success. Dinesh reiterated that the encased cash will be put to good use beyond defraying the expenses incurred by the family.
Watch this space for future news.
KUNDYOLANDA FAMILY GETS 1 CRORE GRANT FROM GOK: THE 2 PEOPLE WHO MADE THIS HAPPEN
Being involved fully right from the beginning, in the documentation process to get KUNDYOLANDA HOCKEY CARNIVAL into the GUINESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS, it’s a great day that the CM OF KARNATAKA SIDDARAMAIAH has specifically acknowledged this wonderful record breaking feat of KUNDYOLANDA HOCKEY CARNIVAL, while he handed over the 1 crore cheque to Kundyolanda Family.
I would be doing grave injustice if I do not specifically name 2 individuals who made this happen in VIDHANA SOUDHA on 09.01.2025.
First is KUNDYOLANDA DINESH CARIAPPA who trusted me fully by putting all his Eggs in my basket to work towards getting the GUINESS WORLD RECORD. His style of functioning and leadership qualities in recognising my abilities to ensure KHC got the GUINESS WORLD RECORD made all the difference and also brought out the best in me, because DINESH IS A TEAM PLAYER WHO PLAYS ALONG without interference, once he has delegated responsibility on someone. This was also the MAIN reason why KHC WAS A RUNAWAY SUCCESS IN EVERY ANGLE.
The second individual is our VIRAJPET MLA AJJIKUTTIRA .S. PONNANNA, who played a very crucial and cardinally important role in getting the 1 crore grant by primarily changing our CMs thinking about KODAVAS. It was mainly because of MLA AS PONNANNA that we all saw what culminated in the CM handing over 1 crore cheque to KUNDYOLANDA FAMILY.
Just before CM SIDDARAMAIAH took over as CM, there was a general perception among all in Kodagu that CM has a huge dislike for KODAVAS considering a few misplaced and media misrepresented events which happened in kodagu during his visit to kodagu as LOP.
Come A.S. PONNANNA getting Elected as the MLA OF VIRAJPET, all this misconception changed so much so that the CM during his visit to Kodagu himself mentioned that MLA AS PONNANNA was among the best MLAs in his cabinet. No small appreciation for an equally fantastic performing honest MLA AS PONNANNA. This was the beginning of the perception change in the CMs thinking about Kodavas, and also the huge change among kodavas regarding CM SIDDARAMAIAH, the credit of which should fully go to our own MLA AS PONNANNA.
All in all a great day for KHC as well as HOCKEY IN KODAGU, the game which is in every Kodavas’ blood.
Delighted to see Jammada Ganesh Ayanna’s comment. For me the highlight of the Kundyolanda Hockey Festival and its positive impact is a reaffirmation of what can be done when people put their hearts and minds to it.
In addition, it is delightful to see that it was youngsters who made it happen with the blessings of the elders of the family.
This is the need of the hour in Kodagu and amongst Kodavas.
From what I gather selfless service individuals like Ganesh Ayanna and Rajeev Bopaiah of Jabhoomi Trust are quietly making a difference within the community without looking around for accolades.
In the Guinness Book of World Records endeavor, Ganesh Ayanna was indeed the driving force. The achievement by Kundyolanda family, especially Dinesh Cariappa and Ganesh Ayanna’s contribution has had a salutary impact for the Kodava community and Kodagu being recognized across and beyond the shores of the country.