Chandigarh, August 26: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Monday launched the T-shirt and logo for the third edition of the Kheda Watan Punjab Dian to be kicked off from August 29.

Players to participate in nine categories of 37 games

The Chief Minister announced the launch of the mega sporting event on August 29 to commemorate National Sports Day, marking the birth anniversary of Hockey Wizard Major Dhyan Chand, and unveiled the logo and t-shirt.

He said that more than two months long sporting extravaganza will advent from the War Heroes Stadium in Sangrur. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that it is a matter of immense pride and satisfaction that this time around five lakh players will vie for medals in nine age groups of 37 games.

 Khedan : Winners to get prizes worth Rs 9 crore

The Chief Minister announced that the government will distribute a cash prize of over Rs 9 crore to the winners. He added that, for the first time, the Khedan Watan Punjab Dian will also include para sports, such as Athletics, Badminton, and Power Lifting.

Bhagwant Singh Mann said that In these three sports, para athletes from Punjab are participating in the Paris Paralympics.

CM exhorts youth to profusely participate in the games

The Chief Minister said that this major sports event aims at channelising the unbounded energy of youth in positive direction to wean them away from menace of drugs. During these games, block-level competitions will take place from September 1-10. Subsequently, district-level competitions will occur from September 15-22. State-level competitions will take place from October 11 to November 9.

Bhagwant Singh Mann announced that the second season of ‘Khedan Watan Punjab Dian‘ took place in 2023, featuring 4.5 lakh players and distributing ₹8.87 crore to 12,500 winners.