Hoshiarpur - The state-level Junior Kho-Kho Championship (under-18 boys and girls categories) was organized by the Kho-Kho Association of Hoshiarpur at Rayat Bahra Professional University. The competition was inaugurated by Punjab Cabinet Minister Dr. Ravjot Singh (Local Government) and Lok Sabha MP Dr. Rajkumar Chabbewal by jointly hoisting the tricolor flag. A total of 24 teams from various districts participated in the championship.

Addressing the players at the inauguration, both dignitaries encouraged them to stay away from drugs, cultivate a spirit of sportsmanship, and maintain a healthy lifestyle. They stated that the state-level Kho-Kho competition is being held in Hoshiarpur after nearly 35 years, a matter of pride for sports lovers.

***Players shine with impressive performances****
In the first day's matches, the boys from Hoshiarpur defeated the teams from Muktsar and Kapurthala to advance to the semi-finals, while the girls from Hoshiarpur secured their place in the semi-finals by defeating the teams from Tarn Taran and Gurdaspur. In the final matches held on the second day, Patiala won first place in the boys' category, Jalandhar second, while Hoshiarpur and Ludhiana tied for third.
In the girls' category, the Patiala team won gold, Muktsar silver, and the teams from Hoshiarpur and Sangrur won bronze.

***Girls awarded under 'Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao'****
As per the instructions of District Magistrate Hoshiarpur, Mrs. Ashika Jain, the girls' teams that secured first, second, third, and fourth places in the competition were honored with tracksuits under the "Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao" campaign.
The Kho-Kho Association of Hoshiarpur also awarded the first and second-place teams ?2,500 each. The boys' winning and runner-up teams were awarded ?2,100 each and tracksuits.

****Special Guests in Attendance at the Felicitation Ceremony****
Mr. Tarun Chawla (Director of Finance and Administration), Mr. Pradeep Kumar Dadwal (Advisor, Vardhman Yarn & Threads Ltd.),
Mr. Shailendra Thakur (Principal, Naru Nangal), and Mrs. Rashmi Sharma (Principal, Rayat Bahra International School) were special guests at the awards ceremony. Finally, Sarbjit Singh Dhami (Canada), Chairman of the Kho-Kho Association of Hoshiarpur, expressed his gratitude to all the guests and encouraged the players to actively participate in the sport.
On this occasion, association officials Satnam Singh, Ajit Singh, Sandeep Kumar, Surjeet Singh, Somesh Kumar, Satvir Singh, Prof Paramjit Kaur, Jaswinder Singh, Anupam Thakur, Davinder Singh, Manoj Kumari (PRO), Rajneesh Dadwal, Harpreet Singh and Sukhwinder Singh along with other members were present, who welcomed the guests by presenting them mementos.