*Rakesh Kumar Varda won the gold medal*

*The Chief Minister and the Sports Minister congratulated the medal winners.*

TNINS

Raipur, February 10, 2023 Malkhamb players of Chhattisgarh brought laurels to the state by winning gold, silver and bronze medals in the 'Khelo India Youth Games 2022' held at Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh. Chief Minister Mr. Bhupesh Baghel and Sports and Youth Welfare Minister Mr. Umesh Patel have congratulated all the players, coaches, managers and officials of the Chhattisgarh Malkhamb team for this accomplishment.

It is noteworthy that on February 7, the women and men athletes of Chhattisgarh displayed their best performances and created history by earning the title of team champion by earning 201.25 points in the Khelo India youth Games 2022.

In the Individual Apparatus Rope Malkhamb of the Khelo India Youth Games on February 9, athlete Rakesh Kumar Varada won the silver medal with 8.50 points in the boy category and Santosh Sori won the bronze medal with 8.30 points. In the All Over India Apparatus Championship on Friday, February 10, Rakesh Kumar Varada won the gold medal with 8.85 points and Monu Netam won the bronze medal by earning 8.70 points.  Chhattisgarh's male and female Malkhamb athletes proved their mettle in the competition by winning 1 gold, 1 silver and 14 bronze medals, filling Chhattisgarh's bag with a total of 16 medals.

The names of the medal winning athletes are as follows- Manu Dhruv, Monu Netam, Shyamlal Potai, Rakesh Varda, Santosh Sori and Ravindra Kumar in the boys category. The girls section includes Sarita Poyam, Durgeshwari Kumeti, Santaya Potai, Jayanti Kachalam, Himanshi Usendi and Shiksha Dinkar.