The sky was spotless on Sunday but it was raining medals on young athletes from premier schools of the city.

They had congregated on the St Michael’s High School grounds to take part in Udaan and Shikhar, inter-school events organised by The Telegraph, in the mild November sun.

While students from classes VI to VIII were testing their mettle in Udaan, those studying in classes IX to XII are sweating it out in Shikhar.

St Karen’s secondary and high school students stole the show by clinching as many as 51 medals in different categories of athletics (See chart).

Ridhima of St Karen’s achieved a double gold victory in the 100m and the 200m races. The Class IX student had represented the state at the national-level and had won praise from everyone.

“Apart from exhibiting my skills, the event also provided me a platform to test my preparations for the national-level events,” said a beaming Ridhima.

Another senior from same school, Sumeet, grabbed gold in 100m race in Shikhar. The teenager added some more medals to his school kitty by winning the silver in the 200m race. He gave a repeat performance in the 400m sprint and was also part of the 4x100 relay race team of his school which won the silver.

“Sports is all about team spirit. If one team wins, the others lose. One should always respect the results. I am glad that my students performed so well,” said Manoj, the coach of St Karen’s High School.

Students of St Michael’s High School, which hosted the events, also came out with flying colours. “It is easy to compete with students from same school but the competition gets tougher when one has to compete against students from 20 schools. It is, in fact, a good thing and I would like to thank The Telegraph for providing such a competitive platform through which we were able to assess where exactly we stand in the crowd,” said Class XI student Gaurav Anand, who won the gold in the 200m race in Shikhar.

“The competition was tough but fair as all schools were well-prepared and the athletes showcased their best abilities owing to professional training from their coaches. By participating in this event, we got to compete and interact with the best talent, which would definitely help us in improvising our skills,” said Jahnvi Ranjan, a Class IX from Notre Dame Academy, who won the bronze in the triple jump event under Shikhar.

Among 20 leading schools, St Karen’s high and secondary school, Notre Dame Academy, St Michael’s High School, Loyola School and Litera Valley School made their way to the finals.

St Michael’s High School hosted the finals of the 100m, 200m and 400m sprints, 4x100m relay race, long jump and triple jump. The participants were divided into the girls’ and boys’ groups under the Udaan and Shikhar categories.

Heaping praise on The Telegraph for organising the event, St Michael’s High School principal Peter Arockiasamy said: “Often we see students more inclined towards outdoor sports such as cricket and football but athletics is even more important for their physical fitness. I am happy with the way this event was organised and we would love to be associated with similar events organised in the future as well.”

Will you take part in athletic meets instead of cricket matches this winter? Tell us at ttbihar@abp.in