Jammu Hosts 68th National School Games with Grand Opening Ceremony

In a grand ceremony, Director General Youth Services and Sports Rajinder Singh Tara today inaugurated the 68th National School Games (NSG) in Jammu, marking the beginning of the month-long sporting extravaganza.

The event, which brings together 21 state/UT teams from across India, includes games like judo, fencing, wushu, and football. The programme kicked off with a national anthem recitation ceremony, followed by a lamp-lighting ceremony attended by senior officials and coaches, including Joint Director YSS Jammu Ved Prakash, Deputy Director YSS Central Jitendra Mishra, Chief Wushu Coach Kuldeep Handoo, and other dignitaries.

The NSG is a premier platform for young athletes to showcase their skills and compete at the national level. The teams participating in the event include Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chandigarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Jharkhand, J&K, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Vidhya Bharathi, and West Bengal.

In a notable moment, Rajinder Singh Tara, the Director General YSS, urged the competing players to give their best efforts to win the top honours. Iconic wushu player Surya Bhanu Pratap Singh and Chief Wushu Coach Kuldeep Handoo were also felicitated for their outstanding contributions to the field of sports.

The teams are now gearing up for the bouts, which will commence at the venue tomorrow. The weigh-in and draw of lots ceremonies were held today, setting the stage for an exciting and competitive event.