Chandigarh/Karnataka, November 8: Punjab reaffirmed its martial excellence by lifting the overall Gatka championship at the 2nd National Cultural Pythian Games–2025, hosted at Bengaluru City University. Haryana finished runner-up after a series of tightly contested bouts that showcased precision and discipline in India’s ancient martial art.
Over the two-day event, Punjab’s boys and Haryana’s girls secured the top honours, while Haryana’s boys and Punjab’s girls ended as runners-up. Teams from Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh shared third place in the boys’ section, while Chandigarh and Andhra Pradesh finished joint third in the girls’ category.
The tournament opened with a colourful ceremony led by Bijender Goel, founder of the Modern Pythian Cultural Games and Chairman of the Pythian Council of India. “The revival of Gatka through the Pythian Games is a tribute to India’s living martial heritage,” Goel said.
Semifinal rounds were declared open by B.H. Anil Kumar, IAS, Chairman of the Organising Committee. On the final day, Advocate Harjeet Singh Grewal, President of the National Gatka Association of India (NGAI), inaugurated the concluding bouts and lauded the athletes’ spirit. “These young Gatkabaz reflect how courage and elegance can coexist — this is our cultural identity in action,” he mentioned.
Among the attendees were Sukhchain Singh Kalsani, Jaspreet Singh Saini, Aarthi Diwan, Sreejith Surendra, coach Venugopal Velloli, and senior Gatka officials Jagdish Singh, Harnam Singh, Harsimran Singh, Amritpal Singh, Jashanpreet Singh, Sharry Singh, Narinderpal Singh, and Aman Singh.
Girls’ Results
Haryana dominated the Gatka-Soti team event, winning gold through Ashmeet Kaur, Jaskirat Kaur and Arjmeet Kaur, while Punjab’s trio of Damanpreet Kaur, Ramanpreet Kaur and Pavneet Kaur settled for silver. Chandigarh and Andhra Pradesh shared bronze.
In individual Gatka-Soti, Pavneet Kaur (Punjab) clinched gold, Harmanpreet Kaur (Chandigarh) took silver, and Badepalli Deek Shitha (Andhra Pradesh) and Kashmir Kaur (Haryana) shared bronze.
The Farrie-Soti team title was won by Haryana, followed by Chandigarh with silver. Punjab and Chhattisgarh shared the bronze spot. Gursimran Kaur (Punjab) topped the Farrie-Soti individual event, with Arjmeet Kaur (Haryana) second and M. Dhathri Moghadaramma (Andhra Pradesh) and Jashanpreet Kaur (Chandigarh) sharing third.
Boys’ Results
In Gatka-Soti individual, Jaskirat Singh (Haryana) took gold, Arshdeep Singh (Punjab) silver, and Prabhasees Singh (Punjab) and Jagjot Singh (Uttarakhand) bronze. Team Gatka-Soti gold went to Uttarakhand, followed by Punjab with silver, and Haryana and Chhattisgarh jointly with bronze.
Haryana’s Varispreet Singh captured the Farrie-Soti individual gold, ahead of Punjab’s Jaskaran Singh. The bronze was shared between Hardeep Singh (Telangana) and Abhijot Singh (Uttarakhand). Punjab’s Farrie-Soti team — Gursharan Singh, Amanpreet Singh and Jaskaran Singh — took gold, while Haryana and Chandigarh shared the remaining podium positions.
Officials said the event witnessed record participation, adding to the growing recognition of Gatka on national platforms.
“This championship underscores the youth’s dedication to preserving martial traditions,” an NGAI official noted.
