Khedan Vatan Punjab Diyan: 1,244 players participate on 1st day of games

State-level matches under the Punjab Khed Mela will be held till October 22, and the matches for the U17 category will start from Monday. 1,244 players participated on the first day of the state-level games for the U-14 category

As many as 1,244 players participated on the first day of the state-level games for the U-14 category under the Khedan Vatan Punjab Diyan on Saturday. Ludhiana is hosting a total of four games - handball, judo, softball and basketball for the U-14, U-17, U-21 and 21-40 categories.

As many as 1,244 players participated on the first day of the state-level games for the U-14 category under the Khedan Vatan Punjab Diyan on Saturday. Ludhiana is hosting a total of four games - handball, judo, softball and basketball for the U-14, U-17, U-21 and 21-40 categories. (HT Photo)

The matches for softball are being held at the Guru Nanak stadium while judo competitions are underway at the multipurpose sports hall and the handball matches are going on at GSSS, Punjab Agricultural University.

Teams of SAS Nagar (Mohali), Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar and Rupnagar won the matches on the first day of handball competitions for boys. In softball for boys, the teams of Patiala, Ludhiana and Moga emerged victorious while in girls, teams of Moga, Fazilka, Ludhiana and Ferozepur won the matches.

In the judo matches for different weight categories, Prabhjot Kaur (Hoshiarpur), Angelina (Hoshiarpur), Jeevika (Amritsar), Isha (Patiala) and Gurmehar Kaur (Amritsar) bagged first positions.

According to the district sports department, the dates for basketball will be announced later.

The state-level matches under the Punjab Khed Mela will be held till October 22, and the matches for the U17 category will start from Monday onwards.

District sports officer Ravinder Singh said the arrangements for accommodation and food for the players from different districts of the state have been made by the department. “Stay of players has been arranged at 20 schools while a round-the-clock mess has been created at the District sports complex,” he added.

In addition to 22 games played at the district level, an additional seven games, including archery, shooting, rowing, chess, gymnastics, fencing, kayaking and canoeing, are being contested at the state level.

Winning teams in the Under-14, Under-17 and Under-21 categories will receive prize money of ₹10,000 for the first position, ₹7,000 for the second and ₹5,000 for the third position along with certificates.