Karnataka/Chandigarh, November 8: Punjab reaffirmed its dominance in traditional martial arts by clinching the overall Gatka championship at the 2nd National Cultural Pythian Games–2025 held at Bengaluru City University, Karnataka. Haryana followed closely as the overall runner-up, marking a spirited contest of skill, agility and discipline.
Over two days of intense bouts, Punjab’s boys and Haryana’s girls secured top positions in their respective categories, while Haryana’s boys and Punjab’s girls finished runners-up. Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh shared third place among boys, whereas Chandigarh and Andhra Pradesh jointly took the third position in the girls’ events.
The championship was inaugurated by Bijender Goel, founder of the Modern Pythian Cultural Games and Chairman of the Pythian Council of India. “These competitions revive India’s rich martial and cultural traditions, connecting youth with heritage,” Goel mentioned during the opening ceremony.
The semifinal bouts were declared open by B.H. Anil Kumar, IAS, Chairman of the Organising Committee. The final day saw Advocate Harjeet Singh Grewal, President of the National Gatka Association of India (NGAI), inaugurate the concluding rounds. Grewal praised the participants for their sportsmanship and commitment, saying, “Each Gatkabaz displayed courage, grace and precision — the true essence of our martial heritage.”
The ceremony was attended by dignitaries including Sukhchain Singh Kalsani, Jaspreet Singh Saini, Aarthi Diwan, Sreejith Surendra, and coach Venugopal Velloli (Bengaluru), alongside senior Gatka officials Jagdish Singh, Harnam Singh, Harsimran Singh, Amritpal Singh, Jashanpreet Singh, Sharry Singh, Narinderpal Singh and Aman Singh (Chhattisgarh).
Girls’ Events
Haryana’s Ashmeet Kaur, Jaskirat Kaur and Arjmeet Kaur bagged gold in the Gatka-Soti team event, while Punjab’s Damanpreet Kaur, Ramanpreet Kaur and Pavneet Kaur earned silver. Chandigarh’s Guramanpreet Kaur, Navdeep Kaur and Ravneet Kaur and Andhra Pradesh’s Badepalli Deek Shitha, Kadiyala Bala Chandana Priya and G. Deephi shared bronze.
In the Gatka-Soti individual event, Pavneet Kaur (Punjab) won gold, followed by Harmanpreet Kaur (Chandigarh) with silver. The bronze was jointly awarded to Badepalli Deek Shitha (Andhra Pradesh) and Kashmir Kaur (Haryana).
In the Farrie-Soti team event, Haryana’s Ekamjot Kaur, Arjmeet Kaur and Harsimarpreet Kaur claimed gold, while Chandigarh’s Jeenal, Harmanpreet Kaur and Jashanpreet Kaur took silver. The bronze medals were shared by Punjab’s Mehakdeep Kaur, Ramandeep Kaur and Prabhleen Kaur and Chhattisgarh’s Nidhi, Vidhi and Dimple.
The Farrie-Soti individual title went to Gursimran Kaur (Punjab), with Arjmeet Kaur (Haryana) finishing second. M. Dhathri Moghadaramma (Andhra Pradesh) and Jashanpreet Kaur (Chandigarh) jointly secured bronze.
Boys’ Events
In the Gatka-Soti individual competition, Jaskirat Singh (Haryana) captured gold, Arshdeep Singh (Punjab) took silver, and Prabhasees Singh (Punjab) and Jagjot Singh (Uttarakhand) shared bronze.
The Gatka-Soti team event saw Uttarakhand’s Rajwinder Singh, Jagjot Singh and Abhijot Singh emerge champions, with Punjab’s Narinder Singh, Gurpreet Singh and Prabhasees Singh finishing second. Haryana’s Rajbir Singh, Simranpreet Singh and Armandeep Singh, and Chhattisgarh’s Gurpreet Singh, Gurjot Singh and Samrath Singh, took joint bronze.
In Farrie-Soti individual, Varispreet Singh (Haryana) claimed gold, followed by Jaskaran Singh (Punjab) with silver, while Hardeep Singh (Telangana) and Abhijot Singh (Uttarakhand) shared bronze.
The Farrie-Soti team event ended with Punjab’s Gursharan Singh, Amanpreet Singh and Jaskaran Singh taking gold, Haryana’s Ajaypal Singh, Sehajpal Singh and Samarjeet Singh claiming silver, and Chandigarh’s Satwant Singh, Manpreet Singh and Bahadur Singh sharing bronze with Haryana’s Anmoldeep Singh, Jaskirat Singh and Varispreet Singh.
