NATA East Cricket Tourny inaugurated

Monroe, NJ (June 28, 2011). North American Telugu Association's (NATA) Eastern Cricket tournament was inaugurated on June 25th at the Daniel Ryan Football field at Monroe in New Jersey by family members of Arjun Dyapa in the presence of enthusiastic cricket players, fans, and the event organizers.

The NATA east team and cricket committee is organizing the cup in memory of late Sri.Arjun Reddy Dyapa, a founding and advisory council member of NATA who was shot and killed by an unidentified gunman at his Brunswick Pharmacy in New Jersey a few weeks ago.

The opening day function began on Saturday, June 25th with a big bang and active participation of over 500 passionate cricket players and cricket lovers from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut. Twelve cricket teams competed in the preliminary rounds. The finals will be held on July 4th, 2011. This program was inspired by Dr. Pailla Malla Reddy, a grand sponsor of the event.

This event was planned and coordinated by NATA East Cricket Committee coordinator Srikanth Reddy Lakkasagaram, Regional Vice President Alla Rami Reddy with the help of Dr. Raghava Reddy and Executive Vice President Rajeshwar Gangasani as the advisors. Satish Indupuru served as the match referee.

During the inaugural ceremony, NATA past President Ramesh Appareddy, Executive Vice President (EVP) Rajeshwar Gangasani, Secretary Pradeep Samala, Joint Treasurer Chinnababu Reddy, Board of Directors (BOD): Dr. Raghava Reddy, Mahender Musuku, Suresh Reddy, Mohan Patalolla, Hari Velkur, Venkat Vaddadi, the East Regional Vice President Alla Rami Reddy attended and addressed the participating players and attendees.

The opening ceremony started with a one minute silence to remember Arjun Reddy Dyapa. Arjun Dyapa's family members, sister Sumathi Reddy and brother Krishna Dyapa, were present for this occasion. The coin was tossed by Sumathi Reddy at the beginning of the first game. Then Suresh Reddy thanked Arjun Reddy Dyapa's family for participating in the event and Dr. Pailla Malla Reddy for his support.

The NATA East cricket tournament is organized with the support of the grand sponsor, Dr. Pailla Malla Reddy, and Gold Sponsor Mohammed Mujahid Murtuza and many other donors. The organizers thanked them for their generosity. Ms. Vaishali Bandi, Youth and Women committee coordinator, was very enthused about the participation of women as spectators and wants to conduct NATA activities geared towards women soon.

It was a fun filled family event attended by a lot of men, women, and children who came to watch the cricket game until 9:30 pm.

"They cheered, clapped, and whistled to encourage the cricket players," said Rajeshwar Gangasani (EVP). Rami Reddy Alla (RVP) stated that the large contingent of volunteers led by Nagesh Mukkamalla worked very hard to make the event successful.

Following twelve teams played in the preliminary rounds:

1. GPREC team led by Satish Indupuru.

2. Robinsville team led by Nataraj Pilla.

3. Walker Gordon Pirates team led by Anil Nair.

4. Nihaki 107ers team led by Shyamsunder Vemula.

5. Deccan Tigers team led by Vinay Battula.

6. Flushing Pioneers team led by Ashok Attada.

7. Long Island Mavericks team led by Captain Swamy Nagesh.

8. Bell Tavern team led by Mohan Vanacharla.

9. Long Island East team led by Chaitanya Gummi.

10. Hicksville Hitters team led by Jayaprakash Enjapuri.

11. Connecticut Challengers team led by Srinivas Vasireddy.

12. Queens Warriors team led by Prasad.

The East Cricket Committee members comprised of Srikanth Reddy Lakkasagaram, Nataraj Pilla, Nagesh Mukkamalla, Satish Indupuru, Venkat Karipireddy, Shyamsundar Vemula, Vishnu Kotimreddy, Sridhar Kumbala, Vinay Thatigutla,Swaroop Venumbaka, and Shivarami Reddy Meka.

NATA Team members who attended the event include: Ramesh Appareddy (Past President), Rajeshwar Gangasani (Exec. Vice President), Pradeep Samala (Secretary), Chinnababu Reddy (Joint Treasurer), Dr. Raghava Reddy (BOD), Mahender Musuku (BOD), Suresh Reddy (BOD), Mohan Patalolla (BOD), Harinath Velkur (BOD), Venkat Vaddadi (BOD), Srinivas Ganagoni (SC), Sekhar konala (SC), Santhosh Reddy Patur (RC), Sreenivas Koonadi (RC), Koti Reddy Arikatla (RC), and Ms. Vaishali Bandi, Youth and Women committee coordinator for NATA East.

The cricket tournament finals will be held on July 4th, 2011. Trophies will be presented to the winners and runners up by NATA President Mr. A.V.N. Reddy at a special presentation ceremony.