PUNE, JAN 20,
Hosts Maharashtra wal ked away with the overall trophy at the Khelo India Youth Games, as they amassed a mammoth 85 gold, 62 silver and 81 bronze for a total of 228 medals. Their sportspersons and officials received the trophy from Union Minister Prakash Javadekar and Maharashtra Sports Minister Vinod Tawde at the closing ceremony here, a media release said.
Mr. Javadekar said the performances of the athletes at the Games had underlined the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s idea of “5minute aur” for sports. He added that the government was determined to bring in a compulsory one-hour daily sports period in every school across the country.
Mr. Tawde said he wanted not just five minutes, but 50 minutes and encouraged all the sportspersons.
Maharashtra finished ahead of Khelo India School Games 2018 winners Haryana, who were second with 62 gold, 56 silver and 60 bronze for a total of 178 medals.
Delhi stood third with 48 gold, 37 silver and 51 bronze, a tally of 136 medals.
On the final day, 15 gold medals were at stake, of which eight were in archery.
Hosts Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Haryana picked two each while Delhi and Punjab got one each.
Haryana asserted themselves in hockey, winning the girls Under-21 final to take their third gold in hockey from four finals, while Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala won gold each in volleyball.
Manush Shah of Gujarat emerged the singles champion in Under-21 table tennis, while Saubhi Patwari of West Bengal won the Girls Under-21 singles.
