Crowds galore to witness nail biting performances on day-2 of historic HP State Games in Hamirpur

Hamirpur District leading the chase in the Games as most of the teams clinch a place in the finals
Dharamshala, June 24, 2017: Charged up by the slogan of “Khelega Yuva, Jeetega Himachal” ,the excitement and enthusiasm amongst the athletes and audience was on a rise on day two of the momentous, Four days HP State Olympic Games being played at Hamirpur, 90 kms from here .

The day 2 comprised of high-octane performances in various disciplines including Wrestling, Boxing, Hockey and Judo among others. The Basketball finals are scheduled to take place later in the day, today and Hockey tomorrow between Hamirpur and Mandi.

Further adding impetus to the first ever HP State Olympic Games Sh. Rajeev Mehta, Secretary General of Indian Olympic Association (IOA) graced the occasion as the Chief Guest of day two and presided the prize distribution ceremony.

Commenting at the event, Sh. Rajeev Mehta, Secretary General, IOA, said, “It is humbling to see an event of this stature in a small town like Hamirpur. This initiative will go a long way in promoting grassroot talent and I would like to congratulate Sh. Anurag Thakur , President HP Olympics association for taking a momentous step in the direction of mobilizing youth and promoting the culture of sports.”

He further added, “Be it National Champion Vikas Thakur, Judo’s National Champion Manish Kumar, National Gold Medalist, Ashutosh Kumar, Boxer from Mandi District, amongst all other athletes are playing towards brining laurels to the country. With such events, athletes get a chance to showcase their talent and skills.”

In the Quarter-final match of freestyle wrestling in 84kg weight-category between Pankaj of Dist. Hamirpur and Tilakraj of Dist. Mandi, Pankaj emerged victorious with a score line of 14-12.
The first semi-final of freestyle wrestling in 66kg weight-category witnessed a thoroughly exhilarating match between between Muskeen of Dist. Solan and Balbir of Dist. Una. Balbir eked out victory by the skin of his teeth to emerge victorious with a final score of 14-13 to roar into the finals.

In the semi-final in 75kg weight-category (Male) of Boxing, National-level Gold Medalist Ashish Kumar of Dist. Mandi squared off against Ashish Negi from Dist. Kinnaur. In a thoroughly one-sided affair, the national gold-medalist’s class shined-through as he won with a final judges verdict of 5:0

??With punches galore, the semi-final in 64kg weight-category (Male) of Boxing between Mohd. Aish of Dist. Shimla and Puran Dev of Dist. Mandi resembled a battle. The match was a neck to neck fight with Mohd. Aish managing to emerge victorious in the first two rounds. The third round went to Puran Dev but it was Mohd. Aish who won the match with the? final judges verdict of 3:2.