Minister inaugurates gatka championship

Mohali, June 13

Punjab Sports Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer inaugurated the 8th Punjab State Gatka Championship at Gurdwara Ishar Prakash Ratwara Sahib today.

In the three-day championship, around 800 boys and girls are participating in the Under-14, 17, 19, 22, 25 and 28 categories.

The Sports Minister said gatka was a martial art inherited from the Gurus, which had now been included in the National Games. With this decision, gatka would rise even higher as a sport.

In the recent Khelo India Games, players from Punjab performed well in gatka and contributed a lot to the overall medal tally of Punjab. The Sports Department would provide all possible help to promote this martial art sport, he added.

Meet Hayer said on the instructions of the Chief Minister, an effective new sports policy was being formulated that would promote sports culture in the state. Arranging coaches, increasing the diet amount, giving jobs to players in addition to cash prizes, giving awards to the coaches will be the main features of the new sports policy, he added.

The minister said Punjab had a rich heritage in sports and produced great players. There was no shortage of talents in Punjab, the only need was to identify and nurture these talents, he added.