Hamirpur clinches overall trophy at 14th State Master Games championship

Hamirpur claimed the overall trophy at the 14th State Master Games Championship, which concluded here on Sunday. The team won gold in badminton, hockey and various athletics events, while district Mandi finished as runners-up.

Senior Congress leader, Dr Pushpinder Verma, awarded prizes to the winners of the championship. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Verma said sports help maintain good health and, since the Masters Championship featured participants aged 30 to 90, it would urge youth to take up games. He suggested inviting school and college students to such championships. Dr Verma also announced a contribution of Rs 15,000 to the association for the event and thanked members for selecting the Hamirpur Sports Complex as the state venue.

The president of the Master Games Association, Vinod Kumar, said over 300 players from across the state participated in various games, including badminton, hockey, volleyball, chess, darts, table tennis and athletics events such as 100m, 200m, 400m, 1,500m, 5,000m walk, 10,000m walk, long jump and high jump. He urged Dr Verma to support players in government service with benefits such as paid holidays and boarding and lodging during state and national events.

Suresh Handa, district president of the MGA, said the winners would participate in the National Master Games to be held in Pune, Maharashtra, from January 27 next year, competing in 24 different games.