Glittering start to Khel Mahakumbh

Parveen Arora

Tribune News Service

Karnal, September 27

Haryana showcased its cultural heritage and contribution to sports in a glittering fou-hour-long opening ceremony of the Khel Mahakumbh here today.

Amid singing and beating of drums at Karan Stadium, the event commenced with the 'khoob khelo, sab khelo, achha khelo' message.

To make the opening ceremony memorable, the state government had hired the event management company which had organised the opening and closing shows of the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games and ICC World Cup 2011.

Around 10,000 sportspersons from across Haryana participated in the march-past. Earlier, a police band performed and led the parade.

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar was the chief guest. Union Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore and Haryana Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Anil Vij presided over the function.

After taking the salute, Khattar formally declared the games open amid applause of spectators. The night sky was lit with fireworks from the stadium. He promised to start 1,000 football clubs in various schools.

He said at the district-level competitions, Rs 1 lakh, Rs 75,000 and Rs 50,000 would be awarded for securing first, second and third positions, respectively.

At the state-level competitions, Rs 5 lakh, Rs 3 lakh and Rs 2 lakh would be awarded to clubs winning first, second and third positions, respectively, he added.

Vij unveiled 'Laddo', mascot of the games. He said the Khel Mahakumbh would being organised in a big way from September 27 to October 3 at the district level and from October 5 to 22 at the state level. He said prizes worth Rs 14 crore would be distributed in these games.

Lauding the efforts of the government, he said they were on top in terms of cash prizes to spotspersons as Rs 6 crore given to an Olympic gold medallist was the highest . “Our motive is to promote games in Haryana, for which we are organising such games,” he maintained.

“We have decided to set up 20 sports nurseries, 10 each for girls and boys. We have decided to start sports competitions for all Olympic games so that the youth can prepare for international competitions," he said.

Rathore recalled his days of Olympic glory. He said he was recalling the day when he was leading the Indian team by holding the national flag.

He lauded the contribution of Haryana to sports and for providing facilities to the youth. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched ‘Khelo India’ last week, under which school and college events would be held in Delhi from December to January.

Giving a personal touch to connect with spectators, he said, “My mother is from Haryana and so I have a special attachment.”