If you needed proof that Jammu does not switch off in the heat, June supplied it. The city's sporting calendar ran hot all month, stacking up a basketball final worthy of the name, a mass-participation road race and a national send-off — a genuine summer of sport, much of it flying the Fit India flag.
The centrepiece was the 2nd Ravinder Khajuria Memorial Basketball Tournament, played out on the University of Jammu basketball court and inaugurated with the backing of MLA Devyani Rana. Organised by the Royal Basketball Club, the tournament drew strong outfits and delivered a tense final: Rail Coach Factory (RCF) edged CISF 70–66 to clinch the title, after RCF and CISF had fought their way past Western Command and BSF in the semifinals. Individual honours went to RCF's Aakash Hooda as Most Valuable Player and RBC's Mohammad Ishtiaq as the tournament's emerging player — the kind of close, well-run competition that gives the city's hoops scene something to build on.
Off the court, the city laced up for the Jammu High Five 5KM 2026, the sort of accessible mass run that turns ordinary residents into participants for a morning — students, office-goers, weekend joggers and first-timers sharing a route and a finish line. Events like it are the connective tissue of the Fit India idea: not elite competition, but the simple, social act of a city moving together.
And there was a national chapter, too. The J&K swimming team was flagged off for the Senior National Aquatic Championships, carrying the region's hopes into the pool against the country's best. Together, the three events sketch a healthy picture — a competitive top end, a participatory base, and a pipeline that sends local athletes out to test themselves nationally. For one summer at least, Jammu was less a city beating the heat than a city in motion.
Spectator’s note: the University of Jammu court and the city’s road races are open, local and free to cheer at — the best sport in town rarely needs a ticket.
