Haryana State Games inaugurated

Faridabad: Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda inaugurated the four-day 24th Haryana State Games amid much fanfare here on Friday.

A total of 2872 men and 2524 women athletes, representing 21 districts and five other teams, are participating in 29 disciplines in the event. Commonwealth Games gold medallist shooter Anisha Sayyad, Anuraj Singh, Deepak Sharma, Nirmala, Suman Kundu and a number of international players attended at the inaugural ceremony. Many international players from Haryana, including CWG gold medal winner Krishna Poonia, have already confirmed their participation. Addressing the players and other members of contingents Hooda announced Rs 25 lakh for the Haryana Olympic Association (HOA) and also wished success to the players. Earlier, talking to mediapersons at the sports complex, he said that the real credit of bringing glory to the state and the nation in the Commonwealth Games goes to the players as the government and the HOA could only provide assistance. Hooda hoped that the players from Haryana would also perform well in the coming Asian Games and next Olympic Games in 2012. Replying to another query, he hoped the players would be greatly motivated with the conduct of such state games. He also referred to number of initiatives taken by the state government such as `Play for India`. The state games would be conducted at four venues and number of international players hailing from the state is likely to participate in the event. Athletics, Basketball, Gymnastic, Handball, Judo, Kabaddi (National and Circle), Kho Kho, Lawn-Tennis, Roller Skating, Swimming, Table Tennis, Triathlon and Volleyball are being conducted at Sports Complex here. Archery, Boxing, Chess, Football, Karate, Netball, Taekwondo, Throw ball, Weightlifting and Wushu would be played at Nahar Singh Stadium, a release said. Badminton and Wrestling would be held at NIT-3 Sports Complex and Fencing at 13 Panth Bhawan. Hockey and Ten Pin bowling would be conducted in Gurgaon. HOA President P V Rathee, Power Minister Mahender Pratap Singh, Revenue Minister Mr Shiv Charan Lal Sharma were among present dignitaries on the occasion. PTI