Punjab lifts overall championship at 2nd National Cultural Pythian Games, Haryana finishes runner-up

Displaying skill, precision, and true martial spirit, Punjab once again stamped its dominance by clinching the overall Gatka championship at the 2nd National Cultural Pythian Games–2025, held at the Bengaluru City University campus in Karnataka. Haryana finished as the overall runner-up, making the event a vibrant showcase of India’s traditional martial art — Gatka, one of the key highlights of the Games.

Over two days of intense and thrilling bouts, Punjab’s boys and Haryana’s girls exhibited unwavering focus and exceptional martial technique, claiming the top titles in their respective categories. Haryana’s boys and Punjab’s girls settled for the runners-up spots. Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh shared third place in the boys’ category, while Chandigarh and Andhra Pradesh jointly secured third place among the girls.

The Gatka competition was inaugurated by Bijender Goel, Founder of the Modern Pythian Cultural Games and Chairman of the Pythian Council of India, amid enthusiastic participation and traditional performances. The semifinal bouts were inaugurated by B.H. Anil Kumar, IAS, Chairman of the Organising Committee of the 2nd National Cultural Pythian Games.

The final bouts on the concluding day were inaugurated by Advocate Harjeet Singh Grewal, President of the National Gatka Association of India (NGAI), who lauded the Gatkabaz for displaying exemplary sportsmanship and discipline. He said the performances reflected “the living legacy of India’s martial heritage, where courage and grace go hand in hand.”

The ceremony was graced by Sukhchain Singh Kalsani, Jaspreet Singh Saini, Aarthi Diwan, Sreejith Surendra, and coach Venugopal Velloli (Bengaluru), along with senior Gatka officials Jagdish Singh, Harnam Singh, Harsimran Singh, Amritpal Singh, Jashanpreet Singh, Sharry Singh, Narinderpal Singh, and Aman Singh (Chhattisgarh).

> “The Gatkabaz have set a remarkable standard of sportsmanship and discipline. Their performance keeps the spirit of our martial heritage alive,”
— Adv. Harjeet Singh Grewal, President, NGAI

Girls’ Results

Gatka-Soti (Team Event):

Gold – Haryana (Ashmeet Kaur, Jaskirat Kaur, Arjmeet Kaur)

Silver – Punjab (Damanpreet Kaur, Ramanpreet Kaur, Pavneet Kaur)

Bronze – Chandigarh (Guramanpreet Kaur, Navdeep Kaur, Ravneet Kaur) and Andhra Pradesh (Badepalli Deek Shitha, Kadiyala Bala Chandana Priya, G. Deephi)

Gatka-Soti (Individual Event):

Gold – Pavneet Kaur (Punjab)

Silver – Harmanpreet Kaur (Chandigarh)

Bronze – Badepalli Deek Shitha (Andhra Pradesh) and Kashmir Kaur (Haryana)

Farrie-Soti (Team Event):

Gold – Haryana (Ekamjot Kaur, Arjmeet Kaur, Harsimarpreet Kaur)

Silver – Chandigarh (Jeenal, Harmanpreet Kaur, Jashanpreet Kaur)

Bronze – Punjab (Mehakdeep Kaur, Ramandeep Kaur, Prabhleen Kaur) and Chhattisgarh (Nidhi, Vidhi, Dimple)

Farrie-Soti (Individual Event):

Gold – Gursimran Kaur (Punjab)

Silver – Arjmeet Kaur (Haryana)

Bronze – M. Dhathri Moghadaramma (Andhra Pradesh) and Jashanpreet Kaur (Chandigarh)

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Boys’ Results

Gatka-Soti (Individual Event):

Gold – Jaskirat Singh (Haryana)

Silver – Arshdeep Singh (Punjab)

Bronze – Prabhasees Singh (Punjab) and Jagjot Singh (Uttarakhand)

Gatka-Soti (Team Event):

Gold – Uttarakhand (Rajwinder Singh, Jagjot Singh, Abhijot Singh)

Silver – Punjab (Narinder Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Prabhasees Singh)

Bronze – Haryana (Rajbir Singh, Simranpreet Singh, Armandeep Singh) and Chhattisgarh (Gurpreet Singh, Gurjot Singh, Samrath Singh)

Farrie-Soti (Individual Event):

Gold – Varispreet Singh (Haryana)

Silver – Jaskaran Singh (Punjab)

Bronze – Hardeep Singh (Telangana) and Abhijot Singh (Uttarakhand)

Farrie-Soti (Team Event):

Gold – Punjab (Gursharan Singh, Amanpreet Singh, Jaskaran Singh)

Silver – Haryana (Ajaypal Singh, Sehajpal Singh, Samarjeet Singh)

Bronze – Chandigarh (Satwant Singh, Manpreet Singh, Bahadur Singh) and Haryana (Anmoldeep Singh, Jaskirat Singh, Varispreet Singh)