living up to their reputation, Haryana skaters made a clean sweep in the recently concluded national roller skating championship held in Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
The Haryana contingent clinched nine out of 10 gold medals at stake in the roller and inline hockey events in different age groups in both men and women’s section.
Haryana senior women roller hockey team, which is unbeatable for the last one-and-half decade in the national circuit, retained their title by defeating hosts Andhra Pradesh in the final. Chandigarh team won bronze in the event. While the senior men’s roller hockey team won gold for the second successive time. They defeated Chandigarh by 7-3 in the final. And neighboring state Punjab won the bronze medal.
In the senior women’s inline hockey event, Haryana completed the hat-trick of national titles by getting the better of Andhra Pradesh.
In the senior men’s inline hockey event, the state defended its title by outclassing Punjab in the final.
Haryana won all the six titles (sub-junior, junior and senior boys and girls) in the roller hockey discipline. While in the inline hockey, the state clinched three gold senior boys and girls and junior girls and was the finalist in the junior boys’ event, Haryana had to settle for silver as they lost the title to Chandigarh in an evenly poised match 0-1.
“Over the years, Haryana has become a force to reckon with in roller skating, especially in the roller and inline hockey events. But this time by clinching nine out of maximum possible of 10 gold, our skaters have made a clean sweep in the nationals and created a history as no other state was able to do till date,” said Amit Kumar Agrawal, president Haryana Roller Skating Association (HRSA).
“This was all possible because of the systematic structure of the sport in the state and due to the hefty cash incentives offered by the State Government. In last two years, around 10 of our international medal winner skaters have got the government jobs in various departments and this is working as a huge motivational force for other skaters to perform well at national and international arenas,” added Agrawal.
Haryana skaters had also done well in the speed skating events during the national speed skating championship held in Pune from January 15 to 20. They had broken the dominance of South and Western states by clinching 28 medals, including 11 gold, in different age categories of the speed skating events. The state finished overall third, behind Maharashtra and Karnataka.
Jitender Dhingra general secretary HSRS said that the level of competition in Haryana has increased to such a level that getting a place in the state team is even tougher than winning a medal in the nationals.