Thiruvananthapuram become first-ever champions of Kerala Games

The first edition of the Kerala Games came to a conclusion on Tuesday with Thiruvananthapuram District becoming the overall champions with 198 points, including 78 gold. Apart from the 78 gold, the capital district also bagged 67 silver and 53 bronze medals. Ernakulam district came second with 107 points, including 39 gold, 38 silver and 30 bronze while Kozhikode came third with 64 points with 26 gold, 17 silver and 21 bronze medals.

The closing ceremony of the Games was inaugurated by Governor Arif Mohammad Khan at Nishagandhi Auditorium here and wished the winners to win international medals in the future, including the Olympics. "I appreciate the decision of the State Olympic Association to adopt 30 students who have displayed outstanding performance in the Kerala School Games," Khan said. He expressed hope that the State government would take steps to also address the financial crisis faced by the athletes.

Addressing the function, Education Minister V Sivankutty said the government has taken note of the financial crisis faced by the athletes and steps would be taken to address it. The 10-day-long sports extravaganza began on May 1. The Games was originally slated to be held in mid-February but was rescheduled to May in view of the pandemic. Sivankutty had in December unveiled the mascot of the Games, a rabbit named Neeraj, in honour of Neeraj Chopra, the first Indian athlete to win an Olympic gold medal.

Athletics, aquatics, archery, basketball, boxing, badminton, cycling, football, wrestling, hockey, judo, karate, kambadi (kabaddi), kho-kho, netball, rugby, shooting, wushu, tennis, table tennis, taekwondo, volleyball and weight-lifting were part of the Games. Athletes and teams participating in the Games were selected through district-level events. More than 7,000 sportspersons participated in the event.