PETALING JAYA: Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar officiated the 71st Gurdwara Cup and Sikh Festival of Sports at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium in Johor Bahru, yesterday (June 1).
In the Facebook post of Sultan Ibrahim, it was reported that some 1,500 participants and officials from nine states, including Singapore are taking part in the four-day sporting event featuring hockey, football, badminton, netball and gold tournaments.
“The Gurdwara Cup, first introduced in 1949, is one of the oldest sporting events in the country that aims to thrill and unite all Sikhs from Malaysia and Singapore who share a passion for sports,” said the FB posting.
The Johor Sultan was greeted by the sound of bagpipes by the Sri Dasmesh Pipe Band upon the Sultan’s arrival at the stadium.
It is learnt that the award winning Kuala Lumpur-based band won the World Pipe Band Championship in Scotland in 2019 and is the world’s largest Sikh bagpipe band.
A colourful marchpast was followed after by the various participating contingents, under the guidance of the 6th Royal Malay Regiment based in Ulu Tiram.
Also present during the opening ceremony were Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi, state secretary Tan Sri Dr Azmi Rohani, state exco member Mohd Hairi Mad Shah, Johor Sikhs Sports Club (JSSC) patron Datuk Avinderjit Singh, Malaysia-Singapore Sikhs Sports Club president Baljit Singh and JSSC president Paramjit Singh.
A Gurdwara Cup Dinner will also be graced by Sultan Ibrahim tomorrow (June 3) at Grand Bayview.
Johor is also expected to host the Asia Pacific Sikh Gold Tournament at Forest City concurrently with the 71st Gurdwara Cup and Sikh Sports Festival.
