Rich tributes were paid to late Indian Railways archer Cherukuri Lenin at the inaugural of the 8th DRM Cup inter-department volleyball tournament at Railway Institute on Tuesday. The league tournament, organised in memory of the archer, witnessed 11 Vijayawada Divisional teams taking part. At the inaugural Senior Division Sports Commissioner Ramesh Chandra said that Vijayawada Division also staged kabaddi and cricket regularly for the employees. “Such department tourneys will strengthen the bond. They also get some relief from their routine work,” he pointed out.
Hailing Lenin’s contribution to Indian sports, Mr. Chandra said that it was unfortunate the talented archer died in a freak accident in 2010 after helping his trainees win a silver medal in the Commonwealth Games at New Delhi. “His (Lenin) contribution to Indian Railways will always be remembered.”
Sports Welfare Inspector Arjuna Rao thanked Mr. Chandra for his efforts in helping a ball badminton player — Sampath Kumar — getting an out-of-turn promotion. “Kumar, a divisional player, was accorded ‘Star of India’ honour by the Ball Badminton Federation of India and he helped Indian Railways win medal at the Senior Nationals. He was promoted as technician from helper,” Mr. Rao said. The spikers maintained two-minute silence in memory of the late archer. Assistant Security Commissioner (RPF) Sambasiva Rao, Railway Institute Secretary S. Venkateswara Rao and International Referee D. Netaji took part.
