Chandigarh: The fourth edition of Punjab govt’s annual multi-sport festival, ‘Khedan Watan Punjab Diyan’, will be held from Sep 5 to Nov 29, with over 10 lakh participants expected across age groups, chief minister Bhagwant Mann announced on Wednesday.The opening ceremony will be held at Shaheed Bhagat Singh Stadium in Bathinda, while the grand finale will take place in Patiala on Nov 29. Competitions will be held at block, district and state levels across all 153 blocks and 23 districts, with state-level events in 16 districts.This year, 38 sports disciplines will be held, along with four para-sports, athletics, powerlifting, badminton and wheelchair basketball. Free registration will be QR-code based.Players will compete in nine age groups, from 14 years to above 70. “In previous editions, three generations of the same family, including grandfather, son and grandson, participated in the games,” Mann said.Tennis-ball cricket for boys and girls has been included as a demonstration sport for the first time. The Mashaal March, or torch relay, began on Aug 12 and will pass through all districts.State-level gold, silver and bronze medallists will receive Rs 10,000, Rs 7,000 and Rs 5,000 respectively. Medal winners up to 40 years of age will also get gradation certificates, making them eligible for sports quota benefits in govt jobs.In the first three editions, Rs 25.51 crore was distributed as prize money, Mann said.He said promoting sports was also part of the govt’s efforts to tackle drugs. “Youth involved in sports have no time even to look at drugs. This will help in eliminating the curse of drugs from the state,” he said.Mann said Rs 1,794 crore had been allocated for sports, while 3,148 sports grounds and 6,000 village gyms were being developed. Work was also being undertaken in sports medicine.He said Punjab would host the Hockey Asian Champions Trophy for the first time since Independence, with matches scheduled in Jalandhar and Mohali during Oct-Nov. Eight Punjab players are currently part of the Indian hockey team competing in the World Hockey Cup in Europe.
