J&K’s Abhishek hogs limelight

GANDHINAGAR: Services is all set to clinch the Raja Bhalindra Singh Trophy as the champion team in the National Games for the fourth time in succession.

Maharashtra and Haryana are engaged in a keen battle for the second spot while Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala are in a contest of their own as the Games is heading for a finish on Wednesday. And yet, the spotlight was well and truly on the Wushu arena in the Mahatma Mandir Complex, where Abhishek Jamwal, who won Jammu and Kashmir’s first gold medal, and Ladakh’s Owais Sarwar Ahengar shone.

Services added three yellow metals to its collection and remained on top of the chart with 56 gold, 34 silver and 30 bronze medals for a total of 120. Maharashtra held a four-gold lead over Haryana, thanks to the addition of the softball men’s title and winning of the Yogasana Artistic Group medals on Tuesday.

Haryana, which secured gold medals through Ravi Panchal in Wushu here and the women’s hockey team in Rajkot, would hope that success in the boxing ring on Wednesday would help it regain the second place. Karnataka and Haryana lived up to their ranking to earn the men and women’s hockey gold medal respectively.

Karnataka defeated Uttar Pradesh via the sudden death tie-breaker after the teams were locked 2-2 in regulation time and scored four goals apiece in the penalty shootout. The Haryana women’s team regained the trophy, edging out its arch-rival Punjab by a solitary goal, scored by the redoubtable Rani Rampal.

Kerala was hoping to win the men’s football gold, but West Bengal had other ideas. It left none in doubt about its superiority with a 5-0 hammering of Kerala in the title clash.