Neighbour’s envy: Haryana on top, Punjab lowly12th

Jalandhar, February 7

Haryana has held on to its No. 1 position on the medals table with 22 gold medals in the Khelo India School Games. Punjab is down at 12th place with two gold medals, which is as many as won by states such as Gujarat, Odisha, Himachal Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.
Haryana shot to the top with 11 gold medals in wrestling, eight won by the girls and three by the boys. In all, the state’s wrestlers won 24 medals.
Punjab, in comparison, could win only one gold in wrestling, apart from 11 bronze. Punjab’s second bronze came in track and field. In events like swimming or volleyball, Punjab could not secure a single medal. Shockingly, no kabaddi and kho-kho team from Punjab took part in the games despite the fact that these two are quite popular in the state.
Ravinder Ravi, Punjab’s state organiser for the event, said that no kabaddi or kho-kho team was fielded because they didn’t meet the qualification criteria of having won a medal in national-level games.
A total of 247 sportspersons from Punjab are part of the event, in 16 disciplines — archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, football, gymnastics, hockey, judo, kabaddi, kho-kho, shooting, swimming, volleyball, weightlifting, and wrestling.
Punjab fielded four participants swimming, none of whom could win a medal. A swimming coach from Bhogpur, who was in Delhi with the swimmers, said that the state lacks a temperature-controlled swimming practice facility. “This makes it difficult for the swimmers to practise around the year,” he said.
In judo, one player from Patiala managed to win one bronze. In shooting too, Punjab had to be satisfied with a bronze.
Ravinder Ravi said that Haryana rose to the top because of its top-class wrestlers. “We are hoping to see our athletes in sports like basketball, boxing and hockey win medals,” he said.
The performances by the state’s emerging talent in the event again highlights the difference between the standards of sports in Haryana and Punjab.