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| Children perform a dance on the concluding day of the Children Olympiad at Moinul Haq Stadium in Patna on Wednesday. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh |
Patna, Feb. 2: The three-day Child Olympiad, organised by Kilkari, a unit of the state human resource development department, drew to a close today at Moinul Haq stadium.
At the first such sports event organised by the organisation, Gyan Niketan, Patna, emerged the overall winner and SANS High School, Patna, emerged runners-up.
In the boys’ category, Saraswati Shiksha Mandir, Bhojpur, became the winner in kabaddi, Rajkiya Madhya Vidyalaya, Patna, in kho-kho and Gandhi School, Dumra, in volleyball. Among the girls, Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya, Sitamarhi, won in kabaddi, Kendriya Vidyalaya, Bailey Road, in kho-kho and volleyball.
Pooja Raj, a student of Krishna Niketan, Patna, came first in discus throw. She said: “We had a great time at the Olympiad. All of us tried to give our best to the competition. In school, I have taken part in sports but competing here is completely different. It is tougher and more challenging here. I think such competitions should be organised each year.”
For kabaddi player Rajvijay Singh from Bhojpur, today was a very special day. He got to meet Smita Kumari, the gold medallist in kabaddi at the Asian Games in Guangzhou last year. Singh said: “This has been a completely new experience for me. Till now, I had only been participating in small events but this is a bigger platform. Here we come across the real challenges in the game. And the best part of the whole day was I got to meet Smita Kumari. I never thought I would be able to meet her.”
Singh’s idol, Smita was also felicitated for bringing laurels to the state on the concluding day of the Olympiad.
Jyoti Parihar, the director of Kilkari Bihar Bal Bhavan, said: “Events like this will help boost the morale of the children who do not get to showcase their talent.”
This year, students from 60 schools in 16 districts took part in the Olympiad. Parihar added the idea behind the event was to encourage children from economically backward families to take part in such events.
