Maghar Singh, a veteran Nihang Singh, with a flowing white beard standing astride  two horses galloped into the hearts of spell-bound villagers who had thronged the  Kila Raipur open air stadium on the second day of the Haywards 5000 Kila Raipur Sports Festival today. The chill in the breeze could not dampen the Punjabi spirit. The sun which had played a game of hide and seek with the clouds, finally won as the day wore on. And by late afternoon it was bright and sunny.

The sports extravaganza was inaugurated by two-time Indian Olympic hockey captain Pargat Singh, who is also the director of sports, Punjab. The moment Mr Pargat Singh released the colourful balloons the sun came out in all its splendour.

The four-lane bullockcart race was a grand finale to the day’s proceedings which included track events, basketball matches, hockey matches, tent pegging and freak circus events besides a mingling of Punjabi bhangra and Rajasthani dance. The tent pegging event was a performance worth going miles to see. Galloping down on the mounts the riders gave a battle cry as they pierced the pegs with the lances and disappeared in the far distant crowd of spectators.

Deepti of Ludhiana won a double crown when she romped home winners in the the two sprint events. In the 100 she clocked 12.9 seconds, leaving her nearest rival Harpal Kaur of Sunam behind by point 10 seconds. In the 400  metres she clocked 65.4 seconds to complete her double with  Rajbir Kaur from Sangrur occupying the second spot at 65.5 seconds.

The fastest boy in under 19 was Amandeep Singh of Ludhiana who clocked 11.45 seconds in the 100-metre sprint. The 400-metre title in the same group went to Inderjeet Singh of Ludhiana with a timing of 51.61 seconds. He upset school national champion, Arun Singh of UP, who clocked 51.7 seconds. Another exciting event was horse race in which the horse ridden by Darbara Singh finished first, defeating the nearest rival by a margin of one second.

As the bullockcarts took the field as the last event of the day, the crowds started swelling at the start and finish. Battle cries went up from the supporters who occupied vantage points at the two ends of the open air stadium. The starters had their problems as the bulls broke the cordon even before the red flag was downed, signalling the start of the match. 

Basketball, which was introduced in the festival last year, saw the cagers from Ludhiana Academy beat Mansa district 56-15. The Mansa team was no match to the Punjab champions who had chalked up a  28-9 lead at halftime. Gagandeep Singh basketed 20 points with Amritpal scoring 18 points.

In another match Gurdaspur defeated Muktsar 70-51.

Women Jalandhar Akademy cagers defeated Ropar 42-26 after leading 26-14 at the break. Jalandhar district team defeated Kapurthala 44-21 after leading 32-14 at half time.
Kile Raipur under 19 boys struck twice to defeat Malwa Khalsa School, Ludhiana, 2-1.

The result

Girls (under 19): 100 metres-----Deepti (Ludhiana) 1, Harpal Kaur (Sunam) 2, Rajbir Kaur (Sunam), Time 12.9 seconds.

400 metres-----Deepti 1, Rajbir Kaur (Sangrur)2, Harpreet Kaur (Sangrur)3. Time 65.4 seconds.

Boys (under 19): 100 metres------Amandeep Singh (Ludhiana)1, Gurjant Singh (Jalandhar) 2;, Gurpreet Singh (Hoshiarpur). Time 11.45 seconds.

400 metres-----Inderjit Singh (Ludhiana)1, Arun Singh (UP)2, Jagjit Singh (Batala)3. Time 51.61 seconds.

Boys (primary school): 100 metres------Rajbir Singh (Khanna)1, Amarinder Singh (Sangrur)2, Abhijit Singh (Khanna) 3. Time 14.94 seconds.

Horse race: Dalbara Singh (Pandori) 1, Bandupal Singh Jolly (Mohali), Gurnam Singh (Rampur) 3, Harminder Singh (Dhulkot) 4.

Ambuja Manovikas Kendra

Ambuja’s contribution to the society is best exemplified in the Ambuja Manovikas Kendra, a school set up for mentally challenged children. Once outcast by the society these special
children did very specially deeds. They have won gold medals in Special Olympics for Punjab and the country.

Ambuja and Kila Raipur

Strength and Punjab are inseparable. Passion and spirit make Punjab very special. For Ambuja, too, strength is second nature – strong cement builds strong homes. Strong people build strong organizations. Ambuja is built on these beliefs. Ambuja thus identifies with the spirit of Punjab – its faith in its own abilities, its faith in its strong traditions.

Kila Raipur is a celebration of the strong and solid traditions of Punjab – its passion and its zest for life. Ambuja Cement finds it a perfect platform to declare –

Majbooti ki raah me – har maidan fateh.