PASIGHAT, 15 Mar: The inaugural Vice-Chancellor Cup Volleyball Tournament of Arunachal Pradesh University [APU] ended here in East Siang district on Saturday with the education department winning the boys’ title and the Hindi department winning the girls’ title.
The economics department and the commerce department were the runners-up in the girls’ and the boys’ category, respectively.
Outgoing vice-chancellor Prof Tomo Riba attended the concluding ceremony and encouraged students to take sports seriously alongside their studies.
“Play sports, keep doing it, stay healthy, and you can study well also,” he said.
He said the university has the potential to form a strong volleyball team.
“The university can form a good volleyball team, and I will always be there for the university as and when required,” he said.
Prof Riba noted that a student who is physically active is better equipped to handle the demands of academic life, and that universities must not be seen solely as spaces for classroom learning but as environments where the complete development of a young person takes place.
He said that sports teach students lessons that no textbook can – the value of teamwork, the ability to handle defeat gracefully, the determination to push through difficulties, and the importance of supporting one another. He expressed hope that tournaments such as the VC Cup would become a regular fixture in the university calendar.
APUSU president Lenzing Tapak and general secretary Tana Hania Tara also spoke on the occasion, congratulating the winning teams and encouraging students to actively participate in sports events organised by the union.
The inaugural edition of the VC Cup was part of the APUSU’s efforts to promote a culture of sports and inter-departmental competition among the students of APU.
