Chapter 20: The Magnificent Sports Meet

One day passed with a blink of an eye and it was already 8.45 pm at night and the sports meets competition was about to start at sharp 9 pm in GCU. In Grand Cultural University (GCU) sports day was held at day time and the competition was held throughout the month however this sports meet was a different competition which was held at night for 9 hours straight from 9 pm till 6 am in the morning only for one day.

The reason there was so much hype on this competition was not because it was held at night however due to the fact that this was a state level competition and champions across state from different universities used to compete in this to glorify their colleges and family. Thus, in Rajgarh Metro City, practically all students used to look forward to this yearly event every year.

This year, GCU was the site of the sporting events; therefore the institution was beautifully decorated. The campus needed to be larger so that multiple competitions could be held simultaneously and the sports meets competition could be conducted within the allotted time of nine hours because the competition was only held for one night and there were multiple sports that needed to be finished within that time.

Apart from the assembly field and the building towers, GCU featured a sizable campus with two football fields, one cricket field, one basketball court, one swimming pool, and a park.

Since the campus was so big and the decorations were so impressive, Grand Cultural University looked even more magnificent.

The stadium seats were already full and the parents and relatives of the students who were participating in the event had already taken their seats and sat with popcorn to enjoy the competition and to cheer for their individual ward.

The swimming competition was the first one to go, and the kids who were going to participate in it had already started to queue as the teachers gathered them and led them to the edge of the pool, where they were going to dive in to start the race.

One of the candidates was Gaurav who was also getting himself ready to dive into the water as soon as the sound of the pistol was made.

When Gaurav met Bharat he was instantly liked by the latter and became good friends since both of them had the same personality and were cornered by Rahul and his groups.

Gaurav had an athletic body and was good at swimming however he was taking part in this competition for the first time due to Bharat's persuasion also he was inspired by him since if Bharat can participate in a sprint competition despite not being having a good athletic body or not being good at running then he should take part in this competition.

Since this was a state level competition there were many students and teachers who were from different colleges sitting with their counterparts of GCU.

Among them Professor Shastri was also seated with his colleagues and professors from different universities.

Prof. Shastri stated: "Faculty members Ravindran and Devika, how do you think the plans we developed for this event appear to you. As the hosting college, we will address any needs you may have if you feel there is a shortage."

Professor Ravindran replied: "Professor Shastri, the arrangements are excellent and it will be very nice to watch the competition from here."

Professor Devika indicated: "Yes it will be very interesting to observe the rivalry among these young individuals after all they have hot bloods running in their veins now so they will try their best to perform in these games."

Professor Shastri commented: "Yes indeed because with this competition these younglings will be put into desperate situations to perform and when a person is in such circumstances only then their true character will be revealed and their mettle will be tested."

Just when it was 9 o'clock in the evening the voice of the sports teacher could be heard "On Your Mark", "Get Set" and with the sound of the Gun fire could be heard "BANG".

And the competitors all dived to get the momentum of the dive to get the maximum speed to enable them to beat their counterparts as nobody wanted to be the last and everyone wanted to win the race.

Out of all the candidates Gaurav had also dived and was swimming effortlessly as if he was a natural in this. So he kept on making the strokes with his feet and dived forward to reach the finish line as soon as possible in spite of that he was getting tough competition from his counterparts most of whom were from different college as they were also making their utmost effort to complete the lap as quickly as possible since it was the question of glory to their colleges so nobody wanted to relent.

The commentators box commentary was on: "This is two hundred meter swimming race and currently Gaurav from GCU is on the lead followed by Kinjal from RMU University and Shekar form CU University. This is going to be all over the place since there has been so much hype about this going on for months."

It was a two hundred meter swimming race and Gaurav was on the lead from GCU and just after him there was another boy from a different university who was in second position and the rest were a lot behind so the main competition was between these two only.

As soon as they were able to touch the other end of the swimming pool Gaurav reversed dived with lightning speed and continued his lead followed by his counterpart who was following him very closely.

The commentators went on: "Wow that was an amazing reverse dive with which Gaurav from GCU is again on the lead and Kinjal from RMU the former champion is following close behind and trying to snatch the lead aggressively."

Professor Ravindran from CU University asked Professor Shastri: "Looks like this Gaurav from your team is quite capable. I never knew you had such good talents here in GCU."

Professor Devika from RMU University commented: "Yes This Gaurav is really having a stunning performance and his dives are also fabulous. You definitely have a national level player in your kitty this time Professor Shastri."

Professor Shastri replied: "Yes I knew he is a good athlete and asked him to engage previously however he never bothered to listen to me. I do not know how he changed his mind this time as I am very surprised that he participated this time."

However Gaurav kept on leading the race and touched the finish line to mark the first victory of the night for the Sports meet competition.

The commentators said: "And with that the first victory is marked in this year's sports meet competition in the name of Gaurav from Grand Cultural University"

The audience cheered with a roar as Grand Cultural University marked its first victory for the night.

It can be said that Gaurav was dominating the race from the beginning till end and was always on the lead so this victory was a great boost to their confidence as a GCU Team.