A sober and sombre ceremony brought the curtains down on the 3rd Khelo Indian University Games (KIUG) 2022 Uttar Pradesh (UP) at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Banaras Hindu University (BHU) campus in India’s spiritual capital Varanasi. What was initially supposed to be a spectacular ceremony with drone show and various cultural performances, was brought down to a simple ceremonyin view of the rail accident tragedy in Odisha. The authorities decided to organise the closing ceremony to honour and motivate the participating athletes and universities.
Chief Minister, UP, Yogi Adityanath ji, who was the Chief Guest, also led the state in remembering the victims of the rail accident tragedy in Odisha, on the occasion. Anurag Singh Thakur, Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports and Information and Broadcasting was also present and also mourned the victims in his address. Two minutes of silence was observed by all to pay their respects to all those who lost their lives in the tragedy yesterday. The event started with Ganesh Vandana followed by a Yogasana performance.
The KIUG 2022 UP, the third edition of India’s biggest multi-sport event at the higher education level, saw over 4000 athletes from over 200 Universities compete in 21 sporting disciplines over 12 competition days. In the end, Panjab University, Chandigarh (PUC) were declared the overall champions with a tally of 26 gold, 17 silver and 26 bronze medals, thereby regaining the mantle they had lost to Jain University in the second edition, after being the champions in the inaugural edition in Odisha. Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar (GNDU) whocame second (24 gold, 27 silver,17 bronze) and Jain University, Karnataka (16 gold, 10 silver, 6 bronze) who came third were all presented with glittering winners trophies at the ceremony.
Addressing the gathering on the occasion, Shri. Yogi Adityanath ji said,“I would like to pay my respect to all those who have lost their loved ones in yesterday’s rail accident in Balasore, Odisha. In the past two weeks, we had the honour to host more than 4000 athletes from all over India who showed some excellent sportsmanship. In our country, sports is reaching new heights under the vision of Hon’ble PM Narendra Modi ji. We have won more medals in the past 9 years than ever and the improvement in sports infrastructure is something to be proud of.
Sports grounds and stadiums are being made across rural and urban areas to empower and encourage more kids to take up sports. More than 65 thousand Sports kits have been provided already in the state. Khelo India University Games is an example of achieving the dream of Hon’ble PM Narendra Modi ji to make India a sporting superpower. We had big concerns over organising games due to summer hear but the excellent organisation team and players made this the most successful games ever and I would like to extend my gratitude to them. We wanted to conclude the tournament in a spectacular manner in Hon’ble PM’s constituency but due to the unfortunate incident in Odisha, we decided to not go ahead with the same.”
Anurag Singh Thakur, in his address, said, “At the outset, I would like to pay my respect to all those who lost lives in the unfortunate rail accident yesterday. I would like to say that Uttar Pradesh has delivered the best Khelo India University Games so far. Sports and sportspersons are being given a lot of importance in the state. Under the able leadership of Hon’ble PM Narendra Modi ji and Hon’ble Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ji, UP has ensured the successful organisation of the KIUGUP2022.
“I would like to extend my congratulations and gratitude to the entire team of UP Government and all the host universities. No stones were left unturned for the comfort of our athletes by the UP government and I would like to extend my thanks to the UP Government on behalf of the Government of India. Furthermore, a modern facility is being built in Sigra, Varanasi which will soon be handed over to all the athletes. We will soon make India a sports superpower.”
Other dignitaries present on the occasion were Shri. Nisith Pramanik, Hon. Minister of State for Youth Affairs & Sports and Home Affairs, Shri. Girish Chandra Yadav, Hon. Sports Minister,Uttar Pradesh, Shri. Sanjay Nishad, Hon. Minister Fisheries, Uttar Pradesh, DS Mishra, Chief Secretary, Government of Uttar Pradesh, Navneet Sehgal, Additional Chief Secretary, Dept. of Sports, Uttar Pradesh, Sandip Pradhan, DG, Sports Authority of India and Viraj Sagar Das, President, BBD Group among others