Himachal Pradesh improves medal tally in Uttarakhand National Games
Compared to its last few outings in the National Games, Himachal Pradesh registered a marginal improvement in the 38th edition of the sporting spectacle held in Uttarakhand. With a haul of 15 medals, which included four gold medals, three silver and eight bronze, the state finished 22nd on the medal tally. In the past two editions of the Games in 2022 (Ahmedabad) and 2023 (Goa), the state had finished 24th with nine and 11 medals, respectively.
Despite this marginal improvement, the overall performance remains dismal. The state finished way behind the neighbouring states of Haryana (153 medals), Uttarakhand (103), Punjab (66) and Delhi (62). Even the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir (24) and Chandigarh (19) finished above Himachal on the medal tally. Incidentally, hosts Uttarakhand, which had finished below Himachal in the last two editions jumped to an impressive seventh spot, finishing with an incredible haul of 103 medals.
In the largely ordinary performance, the silver lining was the continued domination of women kabaddi and handball teams. The kabaddi girls won their third gold medal in a row in the Games, while the handball team won its second consecutive gold. The other notable performance came from the long-distance runner Sawan Barwal, who won gold medal in 10,000 metre and 5,000 metre races, shattering the National Games record in both the events. The state boxers also did well, winning five medals, including two silver and three bronze medals. Overall, women athletes performed much better than male athletes.
While appreciating athletes for a slight improvement in medal haul, Himachal Pradesh Olympic Association secretary Rajesh Bhandari admitted that the state’s performance left a lot to be desired. ‘The overall performance, of course, isn’t good enough, but we must not forget that these medals, too, have come against all odds. Our athletes do not have even a fraction of facilities in terms of infrastructure and coaches compared to their counterparts in the neighbouring states,” said Bhandari. Another sports official points out that the state doesn’t even have a fulltime Sports Director. “There’s not a full time Sports Director, more than half of the coaching posts in the Sports Department are vacant, and the less we talk about sports infrastructure the better. In such a scenario, expecting our athletes to excel at the national stage is not realistic,” he said. “Many athletes who have won medals practice outside the state,” he said.
Bhandari wants the state sports authorities to have a look at the massive sporting infrastructure Uttarakhand has built, and adopt it as the blue print for promotion of sports in the state. “It’s difficult to believe the kind of sports infrastructure Uttarakhand has created. So many state-of-the-art indoor sports stadiums have come up across the state, several athletics tracks have been constructed. A world class indoor stadium has come up close to the Nepal and China border. There are six boxing coaches in this stadium alone, while we have just two boxing coaches in the entire state,” said Bhandari. “The massive infrastructure will help Uttarakhand produce top class athletes over the next many decades, he said.
The investment in sporting infrastructure will not only produce athletes but will also keep the youth away from the ever growing threat of drug abuse and other vices. “A good sporting infrastructure is a must for not just producing top sportspersons but also to keep society, especially children and youth, healthy and away from vices like drug abuse and digital addiction. Investment in sporting infrastructure in investment for our future,” said Bhandari.
