National Games: Haryana wins first gold, Maharashtra dominates swimming
By IANSSunday, February 13, 2011
RANCHI - The sporting events at 34th National Games got off to a flying start here Sunday, with Haryanas Sandeep Kundu being the first gold medallist of the event.
He bagged the Taekwondo gold in the over 87 kg category. Jharkhand women also bagged two gold in the under 67 kg category (Sonam Rajput) and over 73 kg category (K. Srilakshmi).
Priti Kumari settled for bronze in the under 46 kg category.
In all six gold, six silver and 12 bronze medals were at stake in Taekwondo on the first day.
Goa bagged the gold in under 54 kg men’s (Aman Kumar) and under 80 kg category (P. Anand), and silver in over 87 kg (G. Veera Basaviah). Shraddah Dixit gave Uttar Pradesh its first gold in the under 46 kg category.
The aquatic stadium was jam packed as people came to see two national champions compete. The crowd was not disappointed as not only did Delhis Richa Mishra and Maharashtras Veer Dhawal Khande win a couple of gold each, but also beat their own Games record in both the 200 meter free-style and 100 meter butterfly events.
The two other gold medals on stake was shared by Karnataka and Maharashtra in the 4×100 meter relay for men and women respectively.
Veer Dhawal improved upon his previous timing of 154.18 seconds in the 33rd National Games to set a new Games record of 153.68 seconds in the 200 metres free-style. In the 100 meter butterfly event, he bettered his previous Games timing by clocking 53.56 seconds.
Meanwhile, Jharkhand had a splendid start in the womens hockey event as they thrashed Assam 8-0. Jharkhand’s women’s football team also won their first match.
Medal tally on the first day (Gold, Silver, Bronze, Total)
Madhya Pradesh 3 2 4 9
Maharashtra 3 0 8 11
Jharkhand 2 2 2 6
Goa 2 2 0 4
Delhi 2 1 0 3
Tamil Nadu 2 0 5 7
Karnataka 1 3 3 7
Services 1 2 3 6
Sikkim 1 2 0 3
Manipur 1 1 2 4
Haryana 1 1 0 2
Orissa 1 1 0 2
Uttar Pradesh 1 0 0 1
Meghalaya 0 2 1 3
Rajasthan 0 1 1 2
Punjab 0 1 0 1
Arunachal Pradesh 0 0 2 2
West Bengal 0 0 2 2
Assam 0 0 1 1
Mizoram 0 0 1 1
Overall 21 21 35 77
* Subject to official confirmation
