Young athletes shine at 69th state school games

Under the patronage of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann and Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains, the 69th State-Level School Games 2025-26 commenced in various districts of Punjab.

In Jalandhar, Cabinet Minister Mohinder Bhagat inaugurated the state-level chess Under-14 (Boys/Girls) and Kurash Under-14, 17, 19 (Boys) tournaments at Sain Dass AS Senior Secondary School, Patel Chowk. The event began with the release of balloons, marking the official start of the competitions.

The inter-district chess competition is being held at Sain Dass AS Senior Secondary School, while the Kurash competition is taking place at the School of Eminence, Ladowali Road. Minister Bhagat emphasised the importance of both physical strength in Kurash and mental development in chess. He commended the teachers for their valuable contributions to students’ education and sports and highlighted the state’s initiative to build 3,000 playgrounds to combat drug addiction through sports.

District Education Officer (Secondary Education) Dr Gurinderjit Kaur, Deputy District Education Officer (Secondary Education) Rajiv Joshi, District Sports Coordinator Amandeep Kondal and other officials welcomed the chief guest and presented mementos. Dr Kaur expressed her best wishes for the players, hoping they would bring pride to the state in national competitions. Surinder Kumar, International Referee and Lecturer, informed that players from 23 districts are participating in the chess and Kurash tournaments. He also assured that participants are receiving all necessary facilities related to accommodation and food as per the instructions of the Punjab Education Department.

After two rounds of competition, the following districts are leading in the chess tournament: Jalandhar, Sangrur and Ferozepur in the boys’ category; and Patiala, SAS Nagar and Sangrur in the girls’ category. Arbitrators for the chess competitions included Shilpa Gera, Anurag Bhardwaj, Kashish Sharma and Ashok Kumar.

In the Kurash Under-17 competition, the winners in the 40 kg weight category were Arvind Kumar of Jalandhar (1st), Karan of Fazilka (2nd) and Ranveer of Gurdaspur and Aarush Sharma of Hoshiarpur (joint 3rd). In the 45 kg weight category, Karan from Jalandhar secured 1st place, Bavish from Gurdaspur took 2nd and Arshdeep from Bathinda and Arshdeep Singh from Ludhiana shared 3rd place. Media Incharge Harjit Singh shared these results, highlighting the competitive spirit and talent displayed by the participants.

In U-17 Girls Judo Tournament hosted at School of Eminence students displayed impressive strength, skill and discipline across various weight categories. Jalandhar’s Aarushi Nanda clinched first place in the 70 kg category, followed by Gurnoor from Sri Amritsar Sahib in second, while Navya (Ludhiana) and Ekamnoor (Gurdaspur) shared the third spot. Other top performers included: 48 kg category: Deepika (Fazilka) – 1st, Khanak (Jalandhar) – 2nd, Namrata (Ludhiana) & Nancy (Mansa) – joint 3rd; 52 kg category: Vanshika (Patiala) – 1st, Anurit Boparai (Gurdaspur) – 2nd, Veronica (Jalandhar) & Avni (Fazilka) – joint 3rd; 63 kg category: Jeshna Ahuja (Patiala) – 1st, Khushi (Jalandhar) – 2nd, Shagun (Ludhiana) & Tanishka (Mohali) – joint 3rd. Winners were honoured with medals by distinguished guests.