The closing ceremony of the 38th National Games began in Haldwani won Friday with home minister Amit Shah as its guest of honour and sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya also joining the event to laud the athletes' performances. (More Sports News)
To start with, Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami welcomed Shah with a commemorative memenꦛto, a shawl and a bouquet of flowers.
Besides Shah and Dhami, several other dignitaries༒ are in attendance here, including Mandaviya, next host Meghalaya's CM Kongkal Sangma, Uttarakhand's Sports Minister Rekha Arya, Indianꦺ Olympic Association (IOA) President PT Usha, boxing legend MC Mary Kom, and Olympic medallist shooter Gagan Narang, among others.
"Uttarakhand has conveyed to the country that it is not just Devbhoomi but also a Khelb🦄hoomi. The state ensured that no athlete faced any difficulty during the Games. It is the beginning of India becoming a sports hub," said Mandaviya in his address to the gathering at the Indira Gandhi Internat🌱ional Sports Complex here.
The venue has a capacit🐼y of 25,000 and was packed for the ceremony.
"It is the beginning of India coming inside the top 10 Olympic performers by 2036. The count♉ry now has a sports ecosystem. It is moving f💧orward in every aspect, including sports," Mandaviya said.
Usha �ꦦ�also conveyed a similar message in her address.
"The journey does not end here, it is only the b💎egin𒊎ning for Indian sports," said Usha.
The ceremony will feature a 'Games Recap', highlighting the winning moments from start to the end of the spඣorting extravaganza that began seven venues on January 28 with state capital Dehradun being the main centre.
At the end of it, traditional powerᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚhouse Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) topped the medal tally for the fift🐠h time in the last six games, with a total haul of 121 medals (68 gold, 26 silver, 27 bronze).
Maharashtra won more medals than Services with 198 (54 gold, 71 silver, 73 bronze) but the lesser gold c𓂃ount meant that it ended at second spot.
Even Haryana got more medals than Services with 🙈153 (48 gold, 47 silver, 58 bronze) but ha🌼d to be content with a third-place finish.
Hosts Uttarakhand finished a creditable seventh with🌱 a total of 103 medals, including 24 gold, 35 silver and 44 bronze. PTI AH PM AH PM PM
