Ludhiana: Patiala’s Mehardeep wins 1,500m event

In the U-19 girls’ 1,500 metres, Mehardeep Kaur of Patiala took top honors while Soni Kaur of Mansa finished second on the first day of the 68th Punjab Inter-District School Games, which started at the Guru Nanak Stadium on Monday. Students from different districts participate in athletics events for U-14, U-17 and U-19 categories.

In the discus throw for girls U-17, Divjot Kaur from Patiala took the lead followed by Jasmine Kaur from Rupnagar. The U-17 boys shot put title went to Balkaran Singh of Rupnagar, with Sehajpreet Singh of Mansa in second place. Amritpal Singh of Moga came first in the U-17 boys’ long jump, with Harmanpreet Singh of Gurdaspur close behind. In the high jump for boys U-19, Sahiljot Singh Gill from Faridkot emerged victorious, followed by Rajvir from Sri Anandpur Sahib. The U-14 boys’ high jump was won by Daljit Singh from Tarn Taran, while Dev Vishawjeet Singh from Rupnagar came second.

The winners of the opening day were presented with medals by Deputy District Education Officer (Secondary) Jaswinder Singh Virk, who was the chief guest of the day besides District Sports Coordinator Kulveer Singh.

Athletes coming from other districts will be accommodated in 24 local schools, where they will be housed until November 14. Schools have been instructed to provide one room per district team with facilities for water, lighting, ventilation and clean toilets. Additional safety measures include eight-hour teacher shifts, night guards, separate classrooms for girls’ teams without a male teacher, first aid kits and mosquito control.