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Key Points

Former Olympian and SAI Rowing Chief Coach PT Paulose praised the Khelo India Water Games Festival 2025 for its role in developing new athletes. He noted significant improvements in equipment and competition exposure through SAI's programs. The event, held at Dal Lake in Srinagar, saw participation from 36 states and Union Territories. Madhya Pradesh dominated the competition by winning all four gold medals on the second day.

Key Points: PT Paulose Praises Khelo India Water Games for New Athletes

  • PT Paulose emphasizes competitions create new athletic talent
  • 36 states and UTs participate in open-age water sports meet
  • Madhya Pradesh sweeps all four gold medals on Day 2
  • Event allows young players to mingle and gain exposure
2 min read

Such competitions give birth to new athletes: PT Paulose applauds Khelo India Water Games Festival 2025

Olympian PT Paulose applauds Khelo India Water Games Festival 2025 at Dal Lake, highlighting its role in nurturing new talent and improving sports exposure.

"Such competitions give birth to new athletes. - PT Paulose"

Srinagar, August 22

SAI Rowing Chief Coach, High Performance Director, and former Olympian PT Paulose on Friday praised the Khelo India Water Games Festival 2025, which is currently underway at the iconic Dal Lake in Srinagar.

He said that such competitions give birth to new athletes.

36 states and Union Territories took part in the first-ever Games, which was an open-age category meet. This water sports carnival is the second Khelo India event in J-K after the Khelo India Winter Games held in Gulmarg.

"There is a lot of improvement in equipment and competition exposure. SAI, under its programmes for foreign exposure, is letting players go overseas for training and competition. Such competitions give birth to new athletes," Paulose told ANI.

"This is very good because all the water sports, kayaking, canoeing, are happening at the same time at the same place. This has given a chance to players to mingle with each other. Several elite-level athletes did not attend due to the Asian Games camp and the upcoming Asian Championships. So several young players are getting a chance to mingle with each other and other talent," he added.

Madhya Pradesh made a clean sweep of all four gold medals at stake on Day 2 of the Khelo India Water Sports Festival here at the Dal Lake on Friday. Hosts Jammu and Kashmir added a silver to their overnight tally while two more silvers left Odisha at No. 2 in the medal standings.

On another warm day, all four finals in canoeing and kayaking were scheduled in the second half of the day. Madhya Pradesh, a major force in water sports, won its first gold medal in the men's 500m kayaking doubles and never looked back after that to go No. 1 on the standings.

RESULTS (All finals)Kayaking - K2 500m Men: 1. Aditya Singh and Manjeet (Madhya Pradesh) 01.41.59 sec 2. Shantosh Khwairakpam and Naoram James Singh (Odisha) 01:44.50 3. Vishal Dangi and Aditya Saini (Uttarakhand) 01.45.20 sec.

Canoeing - C2 500m Men: 1. Sudhir Kumar and Prince Goswami (Madhya Pradesh) 01:50.94 secs 2. Mohammad Hussain and Sajad Hussain (J&K) 01.52.61 sec 3. Pradeep Kumar and Abhay (Uttar Pradesh) 01.53.99 sec. Kayaking - K1 500m Women: 1. Dally Bishnoi (Madhya Pradesh) 02.11.09 sec 2. Pukhrambamroji Devi (Uttarakhand) 02.14.06 sec 3. Nikita Sarkar (Kerala) 02.22.15 sec.

Kayaking - K2 500m Women: 1. Niharika Singh and Chandrakala Kushwaha 02.04.64 sec 2. Bidya Devi Oinam and Shruti Tanaji Chougule (Odisha) 02.08.10 3. Arathy Renjith and Heera Alphons (Kerala) 02.09.65 sec.

- ANI

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Reader Comments

P
Priya S
Madhya Pradesh dominating as usual in water sports! Their sports infrastructure has really improved over the years. Great to see new talent emerging from these competitions.
A
Arjun K
While the initiative is good, I hope they maintain the ecological balance of Dal Lake. These events should not harm the natural beauty of such precious water bodies.
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Sarah B
Wonderful to see Jammu & Kashmir hosting such events! This will definitely boost tourism and show the world the peaceful and beautiful side of Kashmir. More power to the athletes! ✨
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Vikram M
PT Paulose is absolutely right. These grassroots competitions are where future champions are born. Hope they continue this every year and include more states.
K
Kavya N
So proud of our women athletes performing so well! Dally Bishnoi, Niharika Singh, Chandrakala Kushwaha - you girls are inspiring the next generation 💪

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