Haryana State School Games Begin in Panipat: 5000 Young Players Compete in 10 Sports
A festival of school sports has begun in Panipat, with thousands of young players from across Haryana gathering in the city for the state-level competition. The eighth Haryana State School Games 2026-27 opened on Saturday 31 October, and the contests will run for three days, until 2 November. Around 5000 players in the under-11 age group are taking part, giving the youngest school athletes in the state a major platform to show their talent. Ten sports feature in the competition. They are kabaddi, wrestling, tug of war, athletics, kho-kho, chess, carrom, skating, yoga and gymnastics. Alongside the sporting events, seven cultural activities are also part of the programme. On the opening day, Saturday, the girls’ events are being held, while the boys’ events are scheduled for 1 November. The semi-finals and finals will be played on 2 November, bringing the three-day meet to a close. The matches are spread across eight venues in Panipat. The sports complex at Arya PG College will host kabaddi, wrestling, tug of war and athletics. Kho-kho will be played at Arya Bal Bharati School, chess and carrom at the Government Model Sanskriti Senior Secondary School on GT Road, skating at MASD Public School, yoga at SD Senior Secondary School on GT Road, and gymnastics at Shivaji Stadium. Registration of players began at 8 am on Saturday, with the district education department completing the preparations for the event. Block Education Officer Jaipal Saroha has been appointed the nodal officer for the event, and the competition is being organised under the chairmanship of District Elementary Education Officer Neelam Kundu. Assistant Education Officer Ravinder Antil said the girls’ events would be held on the first day and the boys’ events on the second day. Players have arrived from every district of the state, including more than 400 from Gurugram district and around 250 from Mahendragarh-Narnaul district. For these young athletes, the state stage in Panipat is a valuable chance to test themselves against the best of their age group in Haryana.
