Raipur, April 3 Praising the Chhattisgarh players for their impressive performance in the inaugural Khelo India Tribal Games, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai announced cash prizes for all the medallists and promised a financial windfall for anyone making it to the Olympics.
Chhattisgarh finished ninth in the medal tally with 3 gold, 10 silver, and 6 bronze medals.
Karnataka were crowned the overall champions, claiming 23 gold along with 8 silver and 7 bronze. Odisha finished second with 21 gold, 15 silver, and 21 bronze medals.
Odisha was the only contingent to cross a half-century of medals, finishing with 57 medals. Jharkhand came third with 16 gold, 8 silver, and 11 bronze.
"The individual gold medallists will receive a cash reward of Rs 2 lakh each, Rs 1.5 lakh for silver, and Rs 1 lakh for bronze. The medallists in the team championships will get Rs 1 lakh, Rs 75,000, and Rs 50,000 for gold, silver, and bronze, respectively," the Chief Minister said at the colourful closing ceremony of KITG at the Pt. Deendayal Upadhyay auditorium here.
Siddharth Nagesh (men's shot put), Nikita (weightlifting), and the women's football team clinched the gold medal for the hosts, with the men's football team signing off the campaign with a silver after losing the final 0-1 against West Bengal on Friday.
Thirty states and union territories participated in the inaugural edition of the Khelo India Tribal Games, which witnessed nearly 3800 participants competing in nine sports disciplines.
A total of 106 gold medals were on offer across archery, athletics, football, hockey, swimming, weightlifting, and wrestling, while traditional sports like mallakhamb and kabaddi were demonstration sports.
Deputy Chief Minister Arun Sao, who also holds the sports ministry portfolio in the state, lauded the Sports Authority of India and the state sports department for the successful conduct of the Games and insisted that the next edition would be held on a much bigger scale.
"This is the first time that Games of this stature were held in Chhattisgarh, and I must congratulate SAI, the sports department, and everyone associated in conducting these Games for their hard work and commitment in making these Games a grand success," he said.
"I also promise that the next edition of the Games will be organised on a much bigger scale, and Chhattisgarh will set a benchmark for everyone to follow," he added.