The Union Home Minister of India Shri Amit Shah gave away Khelo India University Games’ First Runners UP Trophy to Lovely Professional University. The occasion was the glittering closing ceremony of India’s largest sports festival- Khelo India University Games 2021 (KIUG-2021), held in Bengaluru (Karnataka). The LPU team won, the most, 51 medals (17 gold, 15 silver, 19 bronze); 19 medals ahead of the overall winner. These games are to serve as qualifiers for the ‘World University Games’, presently scheduled to be held in Chengdu, China.
The 10-day second edition of the international framework of the games witnessed 20 sports competitions, with 3900 participants from 208 universities across India. LPU sports persons exhibited their excellence amid star participation including internationally acclaimed athletes and Olympians. Defending champions Panjab University Chandigarh finished third.
Addressing all, Hon’ble Home Minister Shri Shah shared about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s roadmap through these games to ensure that by 2047, on the 100th Independence Day of the country, India would be among the top five nations at the Olympics.
LPU Chancellor Dr Ashok Mittal congratulated all the sportspersons and their mentors for their proud achievements. Reminding of the results on low ranks of the first edition of KIUG games held in Odisha; Dr Mittal appreciated the illustrious accolades won this time amid tough competitions. He also shared that “many of the Olympians including Neeraj Chopra, Manpreet Singh and more have already made us proud by attaining international glory. Such winnings are leading us to be included amongst only the top few universities of the world, steadily.” Dr Mittal also assures that LPU will leave no stone unturned to be up to the expectations of the top leaders of the country.
In addition to medals, LPU has already won overall trophies in the games including those in Judo, Boxing and athletic events. LPU women’s Judo team is overall 2nd; whereas, men’s team 3rd. In boxing, LPU men are champions with three gold and 2 silver. Similarly, in athletic events, LPU men are overall 2nd and women 3rd.
Union Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur; Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai; State Sports Minister Narayan Gowda also graced the occasion. Here, 10, 000 + sportspersons, students, and sports’ supporters attended the ceremony, whereas millions of sports enthusiasts worldwide viewed live streaming.
The KIUG is a part of the Indian government’s Khelo India initiative to promote grassroots sports and identify young talents from all across the country. The event is an inter-university meet where athletes representing different institutes from all over the country. This edition also witnessed the addition of two indigenous sports- yogasana and mallakhamb. Top Indian athletes, including several Olympians like Dutee Chand, Srihari Nataraj, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar and Divyansh Singh Panwar took part in KIUG 2021. LPU sports person also defeated Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar in a competition.
