08 July, 2011

NATA East Cricket Cup 2011

Monroe, New Jersey (July 6, 2011): North American Telugu Association (NATA) East Cricket Cup 2011 Tournament was conducted on June 25th and July 4th in a very friendly atmosphere. This tournament was organized by NATA East Cricket Committee led by Srikanth Reddy Lakkasagaram under the guidance of Executive Vice President Rajeshwar Reddy and Board of Director Dr. Raghava Reddy, with the help of Regional Vice President Alla Rami Reddy and supported by all BODs from North East area. The event was attended by several Executive Committee members including NATA President Mr. A.V.N. Reddy, President-Elect Dr. Sanjeeva Reddy, Advisory Council Dr. Pailla Malla Reddy, Pradeep Samala and Chinnababu Reddy, BODs Mahender Musuku, Suresh Reddy Sadipiralla, Mohan Patalolla, Harinadha Velkur, and Venkat Vaddadi, Regional Vice Presidents Alla Rami Reddy and Ramesh Chandra, Standing Committee Chairs Srinivasa Reddy Emani, Srinivas Ganagoni, Mahesh Bigala and Janani Krishna along with other NATA Regional Coordinators from North East (New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Maryland and Virginia).

Several volunteers led by Nagesh Reddy Mukkamalla have worked hard to make this event successful. Satish Reddy Indupuru was the match referee and coordinated all the teams. The organizing committee has thanked our Grand Sponsor Dr. Pailla Malla Reddy for encouraging and extending the unconditional support for this event, Gold Sponsor Mujahid Murtuja and all the EC members, BODs, and RCs who supported this event. Dr. Samba Reddy has provided background help with media and publicity.

This cup was named after Arjun Reddy Dyapa, a founding and advisory council member of NATA. Arjun Reddy's wife Geetha Dyapa and daughter attended this event. A total of 12 teams participated in the tournament and after preliminary rounds and quarter finals, four teams made it to semifinals. The semifinals and finals were played on July 4th. “G. Pulla Reddy Engineering College (GPREC)” were the winners, and "Flushing Pioneers" were the runners-up.

NATA President AVN Reddy and Geetha Dyapa presented the winners cup to GPREC Team captain Satish Reddy Indupuru and his team. Our grand sponsor Dr. Pailla Malla Reddy and Geetha Dyapa presented the runners-up cup to Flushing Pioneers led by Ashok Attada.

President AVN Reddy mentioned in his speech that he has seen lot of enthusiasm here which should continue to the Houston conference to make it a grand successful event. Rajeshwar Gangasani appreciated our grand sponsor Dr. Malla Reddy for his support. Dr. Raghava Reddy commended the East Cricket Committee for their dedication and hard work.

NJ Assembly Deputy Speaker Mr.Upendra Chivukula and West Windsor and Plainsboro school board member Rachelle Feldman Hurwitz attended the function and spoke to the audience. Singer Rama Chari garu attended the event and sang few Telugu songs to entertain the audience. Regional Vice Presidents Alla Rami Reddy and Ramesh Chandra were the MCs for this program. The presentation ceremony ended with vote of thanks from Mahender Musuku.

This sport event was conducted to build awareness of NATA and to bring youth into NATA family. The primary goal has been achieved, and the tournament truly helped spread the word about the ideals and vision of NATA. Naveen Bucchi and Ramesh Chandra have organized the fun activity (musical chairs) for ladies and kids. In addition, there was face painting and balloons for the kids. More than 500 Telugu families attended the event, watched the exciting games, and enjoyed the food and snacks.

Everyone thanked the NATA team, volunteers, and organizers (Srikanth Reddy Lakkasagaram, Nataraj Pilla, Nagesh Mukkamalla, Satish Indupuru, Swaroop Venumbaka, Shiva Meka, Venkat Karipireddy, Shyamsundar Vemula, Vishnu Kotimreddy, Sridhar Kumbala and Vinay Thatigutla) for conducting such a wonderful tournament. This was a memorable event for all the Telugu families in North East area. The NATA team has thanked Dyapa family for being a part of this event.

“This was the biggest sports event organized by NATA to date and it certainly generated high enthusiasm in the US Telugu community”, said Dr. Samba Reddy (via e-mail). Many American-Telugu communities have appreciated the East cricket cup organizers for this kind gesture in promoting friendship and sportsmanship.