Delhi boys and girls reaped a rich golden haul in the 34th National School Games that concluded at the Chhattrasal Stadium on Sunday, helping the hosts win the overall championships as well. Delhi won 42 gold, two silver and three bronze medals.Competitions were held in 10 disciplines for both boys and girls for the finals in Delhi after being selected from across the country through zonal qualification tournaments. Delhi under-19 boys and girls both swept through gold in basketball, netball, tennis, wrestling and yoga, while in the under-17 section, Delhi students bagged gold in baseball, handball, kabaddi, tennis, netball, throwball, wrestling and yoga. In tennis, Delhi boys and girls swept all the titles on offer.In fact, with Delhi’s complete dominance in the meet, it was more of a fight for the second spot. There was a tough contest among three states for the second position with Haryana, Maharashtra and Punjab vying in the overall tally. However, Haryana with six gold, five silver and nine bronze medals in the under-14, 17, 19 categories claimed second position. Punjab shone partially in some of the events in which its students contested, excelling in basketball, baseball and handball, though they could not effectively challenge hosts Delhi. The former were able to claim only silver in the three disciplines while students from Chandigarh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat and AP came off well in the tennis event. Haryana boys proved their credentials in wrestling and finished behind Delhi to push Karnataka to the third position.On the other hand, Jharkhand girls were impressive in netball and, with Ranchi set to host the National Games later this year and the sport also part of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, several members of the present under-17 squad should figure prominently in the national and senior state team.The Delhi finals saw over 6,000 participants from 34 states and Union Territories and affiliated units of the School Games Federation of India. Olympian Satpal, organising secretary of the Games, said Delhi students were well prepared for the meet and, with ample assistance coming from the central and state governments, should be in good shape for the 2010 Games.
