Punjab boys and Haryana girls emerge champions in their respective categories Chandigarh, November 8, 2025 – Displaying best skills, precision and true martial spirit Punjab once again proved its dominance by clinching the overall Gatka championship at the 2nd National Cultural Pythian Games–2025 here held at Bengaluru City University campus, Karnataka. Haryana secured the runner-up position making the event a gripping showcase of Indias traditional martial art Gatka which was one of the key attractions of the Pythian Games. Over two days of intense and thrilling bouts Punjabs boys and Haryanas girls demonstrated unwavering focus and masterful martial technique to claim the top titles in their respective categories. The Haryana boys and Punjab girls finished runners-up while Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh shared third place among the boys and Chandigarh and Andhra Pradesh jointly secured third place among the girls events. The Gatka competition was inaugurated by Bijender Goel, founder of the Modern Pythian Cultural Games and Chairman of the Pythian Council of India amidst great enthusiasm and vibrant traditional performances. Later, the semifinal bouts were inaugurated by B.H. Anil Kumar, IAS, Chairman of the Organising Committee of 2nd National Cultural Pythian Games. The final Gatka bouts on the concluding day were inaugurated by Advocate Harjeet Singh Grewal, President of National Gatka Association of India (NGAI) who praised the Gatkabaz for displaying exemplary sportsmanship and discipline. He remarked that the performances reflected the living legacy of martial heritage where courage and grace go hand in hand. The ceremony was graced by Sukhchain Singh Kalsani, Jaspreet Singh Saini, Aarthi Diwan, Sreejith Surendra and coach Venugopal Velloli (Bengaluru) and senior Gatka officials including Jagdish Singh, Harnam Singh, Harsimran Singh, Amritpal Singh, Jashanpreet Singh, Sharry Singh, Narinderpal Singh, and Aman Singh Chhattisgarh. Girls Results In the Gatka-Soti team event, Haryanas Ashmeet Kaur, Jaskirat Kaur, and Arjmeet Kaur clinched the gold medals while Punjabs Damanpreet Kaur, Ramanpreet Kaur and Pavneet Kaur took silver. The Chandigarh team of Guramanpreet Kaur, Navdeep Kaur and Ravneet Kaur and Andhra Pradeshs Badepalli Deek Shitha, Kadiyala Bala Chandana Priya and G. Deephi shared bronze medals. In the Gatka-Soti individual event, Pavneet Kaur (Punjab) won gold, Harmanpreet Kaur (Chandigarh) took silver while Badepalli Deek Shitha (Andhra Pradesh) and Kashmir Kaur (Haryana) jointly claimed bronze. In the Farrie-Soti team event, Haryanas Ekamjot Kaur, Arjmeet Kaur and Harsimarpreet Kaur secured gold medals. Chandigarhs Jeenal, Harmanpreet Kaur and Jashanpreet Kaur earned silver while Punjabs Mehakdeep Kaur, Ramandeep Kaur and Prabhleen Kaur and Chhattisgarhs Nidhi, Vidhi and Dimple jointly bagged bronze. In the Farrie-Soti individual event, Gursimran Kaur (Punjab) clinched gold followed by Arjmeet Kaur (Haryana) with silver while M. Dhathri Moghadaramma (Andhra Pradesh) and Jashanpreet Kaur (Chandigarh) shared bronze. Boys Results In the Gatka-Soti individual event, Jaskirat Singh (Haryana) emerged gold medalist, Arshdeep Singh (Punjab) claimed silver and Prabhasees Singh (Punjab) with Jagjot Singh (Uttarakhand) shared bronze. In the Gatka-Soti team event, Uttarakhands Rajwinder Singh, Jagjot Singh and Abhijot Singh stormed to gold followed by Punjabs Narinder Singh, Gurpreet Singh and Prabhasees Singh with silver. Haryanas Rajbir Singh, Simranpreet Singh and Armandeep Singh and Chhattisgarhs Gurpreet Singh, Gurjot Singh and Samrath Singh took bronze medals. In the Farrie-Soti individual event, Varispreet Singh (Haryana) won gold, Jaskaran Singh (Punjab) secured silver while Hardeep Singh (Telangana) and Abhijot Singh (Uttarakhand) shared bronze medals. In the Farrie-Soti team event, Punjabs Gursharan Singh, Amanpreet Singh and Jaskaran Singh bagged gold, Haryanas Ajaypal Singh, Sehajpal Singh and Samarjeet Singh claimed silver while Chandigarhs Satwant Singh, Manpreet Singh and Bahadur Singh and Haryanas Anmoldeep Singh, Jaskirat Singh and Varispreet Singh took bronze medals jointly.

Punjab Lifts Overall Championship At 2nd National Cultural Pythian Games Haryana Finishes Overall Runner up