Haryana team were crowned  Champions on the last day of the inaugural Khelo India School Games (KISG) 2018. The state of Haryana pipped Maharashtra to emerge as the Winners of the multi-sport event.

Haryana struck Gold, rather discovered a goldmine as their team won as many as 15 Gold Medals -- out of which 10 were won by wrestlers -- on the final day. The other five medals were won in Judo, Archery, Football and Hockey. It was an all-Haryana show on the last day of KISG 2018.

At the end of the tournament, Haryana had a total of 102 Medals -- 38 Gold, 26 Silver, and 38 Bronze Medals respectively. While second-placed Maharashtra ended their competition with 36 gold, 32 silver and 42 bronze.

The trophies for maximum participation were awarded to Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan in that order. Rathore presented Haryana with the glittering customised trophy for emerging team champions. Maharashtra finished second and Delhi third.

Karnataka (16 gold, 11 silver and 15 bronze), Manipur (13 gold, 13 silver and eight bronze), Uttar Pradesh (10 gold, 24 silver and 27 bronze) and Punjab (10 gold, 24 silver and 20 bronze) were the other states to win ten or more gold.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the event amid huge fanfare in New Delhi. At the event were also present prominent sports personalities like PT Usha, Tintu Luka, Jishna Mathew, P Gopichand, PV Sindhu, and K Srikanth amongst others.

PM Modi said, “Khelo India is not only about winning medals, it is an effort to give strength to a mass movement for playing more. We want to focus on every aspect that would make sports more popular across the nation.” He also said that India’s growth story doesn’t mean it is only about a strong army and powerful economy. It also includes people of India excelling themselves in different fields be it science, arts or sports.

The inaugural Khelo India School Games, seen as a game-changing cog in the wheel that can spin India to international acclaim, will see competitions in 16 disciplines with more than 3700 athletes vying for 199 gold medals.

Medal Tally of the Inaugural Khelo India School Games 2018 is as follows:

Rank

State / UT Gold Silver Bronze

Total

1

Haryana 38 26 38 102
2 Maharashtra 36 32 43

111

3

Delhi 25 29 40 94
4 Karnataka 16 11 17

44

5

Manipur 13 13 8 34
6 Uttar Pradesh 10 24 28

62

7

Punjab 10 5 20 35
8 Kerala 7 11 10

28

9

Tamil Nadu 6 11 11 28
10 West Bengal 5 4 6

15

Note – Medal Tally last updated at 09.00 p.m. on February 9, 2018.

The initiative by Narendra Modi-led Central Government, Khelo India School Games, is a part of Khelo India Programme taken up by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, under the leadership of Sports Minister Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore. The initiative will see sports competition will see participants across 16 disciplines – Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Boxing, Football, Gymnastics, Hockey, Judo, Kabaddi, Kho-Kho, Shooting, Swimming, Volleyball, Weightlifting, and Wrestling. The sports competition will be held from January 31 to February 8. A high-powered committee set-up by the ministry will identify and scout talented players in the mentioned disciplines and will be awarded Rs. 5 lakh per annum for 8 years.

Will this initiative finally revive the obsolete Sports infrastructure and culture in India? A lot of questions are to be answered and it is for time to tell whether the initiative succeeds or not. Stay tuned for many such updates on the Khelo India Programme initiative by the Government of India here. (With PTI Inputs)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 01, 2018 07:47 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).