5 lakh to take part in 3rd edition of sports events from Aug 29
About five lakh players will take part in the competition in nine age groups in 37 different games, state chief minister Bhagwant Singh Mann said. For the first time para sports have also been included in the state games.
Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Monday announced start of the Khedan Watan Punjab Diyan from August 29, the third edition of the annual feature since Aam Aadmi party (AAP) came to power in 2022. The CM launched a logo and a T-shirt for the upcoming event.
“The mega sporting event will be launched on August 29 to commemorate the National Sports Day, the birth anniversary of Hockey Wizard Major Dhyan Chand,” announced the CM. He said the more than two-month long sporting extravaganza will start from the War Heroes Stadium in Sangrur, adding that about five lakh players will take part in the competition in nine age groups in 37 different games.
Cash prizes involving over ₹9 crore will be distributed among the winners and for the first time para sports, including athletics, badminton and powerlifting, have also been included in the state games,” the CM said. In these three sports, para-athletes from Punjab are participating in the Paris paralympics, informed the CM.
Mann said the event aims at channelising the unbounded energy of youth in positive direction to wean them away from the menace of drugs. During the games, block-level competitions will be held from September 1 to 10, district-level competitions from September 15 to 22 and state level from October 11 to November 9. Mann said the second season of Khedan Watan Punjab Diyan was held in 2023 in which 4.5 lakh players had participated and ₹8.87 crore was distributed among 12,500 winning players.
