Morocco, Jordan, India Play Aainball Tournament in Kashmir

Srinagar- The Youth for True India (YOTI) Foundation in collaboration with the Embassy of India in Morocco organized the International Aainball tournament between Morocco, Jordan, and India on March 7.

For the first time, organizations from Morocco and Jordan, two members of the states of Islamic Countries (OIC), sent their athletes to Indian-administered Kashmir for this sports event. The tournament was played with tight security measures enforced by the local police and central paramilitaries.

Promoting ‘sports tourism’

Mohamed Hamane, founder of the sport and President of the International Aainball Federation accompanied the Moroccan team. In 2006, Hamane introduced aainball in Morocco and received the prestigious Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for the Best Sports Initiatives.

“I conducted an in-depth study on colors and studied their impact by compiling and synthesizing different researches. In today’s time, colors are being used as an effective means to achieve targeted responses and to influence behaviors,” Hamane said of aainball. “Entailing a similar notion, I thought of designing a game that combines the prominent colors and a sport that involves all parts of the body and a various set of skills.”

Aainball is an international physical game based on colors, concentration, and coordination. It is quickly gaining recognition across India, where the sport is played in 25 out of 28 of the country’s states, with YOTI Foundation spearheading the mission to promote the sport in Asia.

Founder of Aainball Federation of India Pratap Singhsaid, “As of now, we are working in 25 states and 250 districts are connected with us. We are really thankful to the Indian Embassy in Morocco who made the free visa arrangements for the Moroccan team and also H.E. Mohamed Maliki, the ambassador of Morocco in India for his relentless support.”

“Our aim is to promote sports tourism; we always try to pick tourist destinations as the venue for these tournaments,” said Syed Waseem, Secretary-General of Aainball Federation of India. “We are planning to take these teams to Gulmarg, the popular skiing destination for the first ever snow Aainball competition, and Kashmir has a huge scope for adventure and sports tourism for its unmatched landscape and picturesque hikes.”

Special guests at the inaugural ceremony included Uday Mahurkar, the Central Information Commissioner of India, Pandurang K. Pole, Divisional Commissioner of Kashmir, and Dnyaneshwar Mulay, Former Secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs.

Commissioner Mahurkar said: “This tournament has great significance for the sport, for India-Morocco relations because this will further the relations between the two countries. I would also like to congratulate the Moroccan team for their endurance and their large heartedness.”

The Moroccan team received the Bravery Trophy from the event’s special guests in recognition of their show of great spirit in contributing towards the development of aainball across the world.

The event was organized by the YOTI Foundation and the Aainball Federation of India in collaboration with the National Human Rights Commission of India.