Khelo India Youth Games 2022: Haryana dethrone Maharashtra, crowned new champions

Team Haryana were crowned champions of the 2022 Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG) on Monday (June 13). The hosts bagged a whopping 137 medals, including 52 gold, 39 silver, and 46 bronze, to dethrone Maharashtra as KIYG came to an end after a highly successful and incredibly action-packed two weeks.

Maharashtra, who at one point were neck-and-neck with the hosts, settled for a second-place finish. They won 125 medals overall, including 45 gold, 40 silver and 40 bronze.

Meanwhile, Karnataka finished third with 67 medals (22 gold, 17 silver, 28 bronze) including a whopping 19 from the swimming pool. Manipur and Kerala finished fourth and fifth with 28 (19 gold, four silver, five bronze) and 55 (18 gold, 19 silver, 18 bronze) overall medals, respectively.

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Khelo India Youth Games 2022 comes to an end with a lavish closing ceremony

The 2022 Khelo India Youth Games came to an end, with Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Thakur, Governor of Haryana Bandaru Dattatreya, and Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar present, among other prominent dignitaries, at the closing ceremony.

CM Khattar, impressed by the athlete’s efforts and output, announced the rewards for the podium finishers. Gold medallists will be handed a reward of Rs 1 lakh while Rs 60,000 and Rs 50,000 will be given to silver medalists and bronze medalists, respectively. Meanwhile, each player participating in the Khelo India Youth Games will receive Rs 5,000.

Earlier, gold, silver, and bronze medal winners were given Rs 50,000, Rs 30,000 and Rs 20,000 respectively.

Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur congratulated all the athletes during the closing ceremony. As per an official Government of India press release, he said:

“There have been 12 new national records and I put forward my hearty congratulations to all of the athletes. The duel has always been between Haryana and Maharashtra in all editions of the Khelo India Youth Games and this time too it wasn’t different. I congratulate Haryana for taking the top honours again. Haryana has continued its dominance as the sporting superpower state of India."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent a special message to the young athletes, who at one point will represent India internationally. He said (as quoted in the press release):

“Today the hopes and aspirations of the young players of the country are forming the basis of decisions and policies. Promotion of sports in new education policy emphasises on building modern sports infrastructure. The synergy of modern technology is creating a rich sports culture in India today. From the identification, selection and training of talent in the field of sports to the sporting needs of the players, the government is with the country’s talented youth at every step."