Union Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports and Information & Broadcasting Anurag Singh Thakur gave away the trophies at the closing ceremony of the Khelo India Youth Games 2023 Tamil Nadu in Chennai on Wednesday.
Maharashtra finished in the top position with a total of 158 medals (57 gold, 48 silver, 53 bronze) while Tamil Nadu and Haryana took the 2nd and 3rd positions respectively, bagging 98 medals (38 gold, 21 silver, 39 bronze) and 103 medals (35 gold, 22 silver, 46 bronze).
On the occasion Union Minister Anurag Singh Thakur said “The Khelo India Games envisioned by Prime Minister is the embodiment of his interest in harnessing the power of the youth and giving them a platform to showcase their talent.”
The total participation at the games was 7234 including athletes, technical officials, volunteers, etc.
Speaking on the occasion, Thakur said, “With every Khelo India Youth Games, we have grown in stature. It is with immense pride I mention that 4454 young athletes across 26 competitive sports from 36 States/UTs battled it out for glory, fueled by their athletic zeal and the unwavering spirit of sportsmanship. There was almost equal representation at the games with 2307 male athletes and 2147 female athletes competing.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has envisioned that India will become the next sporting super power in the world and the way the sports eco-system is evolving every passing day is a testament to this transformation,” he added.
A total 30 overall meet records and national youth records have been created in this edition of the games. In athletics, 8 records have been created while in weightlifting, 22 records. While athletes from Haryana made 7 records, Maharashtra made a total of 6.
Sanjana of Haryana created 5 records in the 76kg weightlifting division while Keerthana of Tamil Nadu made 3 records in the 81kg weightlifting division. Aarti Tatguni of Maharashtra also created 3 records in the 49kg weightlifting division.
Swimmer Vritti Agarwal of Telangana meanwhile became one of the best athletes of the games, winning a total of 5 gold medals for herself – 200m butterfly, 1500m freestyle, 800m freestyle, 400m freestyle and 200m freestyle.
One of the most striking elements of the Khelo India games are the various stories of athletes coming up from humble backgrounds to reach the podium. Mentioning a few of those stories, Sh Thakur said, “Panchami Sonowal of Assam broke as many as three national youth records in the 49kg weightlifting category. She is the daughter of a tea seller in Assam.
“Also, there is hardly any infrastructure in some of the small towns of the country but from here onwards, SAI will take utmost care of them. Durga Singh of Bihar shattered the 1500m Games record. She would run in the wide open spaces around the fields in her remote village of Belwa Thakurai in Gopalganj district of Bihar. In an area with little sporting background, Durga’s father Shambhu Sharan Singh, a wheat farmer, was the only person who encouraged her.
“Weightlifter Jyoshna Sabar rose from poverty in remote Odisha village to shatter national record. The 15-year old daughter of a small-time farmer father and homemaker mother has risen from this impoverished background to become one of India’s leading junior weightlifters. After winning bronze at the World Youth Championships in Albania last year, she shattered the national snatch record on her way to the gold medal in the 40kg category
“The stories that unfolded on these fields were not confined to victory laps. Every single athlete had a story and this reminded us that talent knows no boundaries,” Anurag Singh Thakur mentioned in his speech.
The games also saw the presence of 23 prominent athletes who have participated in major international competitions, from Aditi Gopichand Swami in Archery to L Dhanush in Weightlifting. While Aditi won two medals, including one gold, at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, Dhanush of Tamil Nadu has a bronze in his kitty from the IWF World Youth Championships in Durres, Albania, last year.
“I feel immense pride and optimism from what we’ve seen in this past 13 days of the Khelo India Youth Games in Tamil Nadu. The games have been a glorious testament to the talent, dedication, and indomitable spirit of our youth. I have witnessed displays of athletic prowess, sportsmanship, and camaraderie that leave me deeply inspired,” the Minister added.
Also present in the grand event on Wednesday was Dayanidhi Maran, Member of Parliament (Central Chennai), and Udyanidhi Stalin, Minister of Youth Welfare and Sports Development, Government of Tamil Nadu.
