Panchkula: Haryana's all-conquering grapplers wrestled back the lead for their state in the Khelo India Youth Games, winning 4 out of the 5 gold on offer on the final day of their event here in Panchkula.
The hosts collected two more gold in track and field to take their overall tally to 30 gold, 23 silver and 33 bronze to surge past Maharashtra (26 Gold, 25 Silver, 22 Bronze), who could only manage a solitary gold on day six.
Elsewhere, in the swimming competition in Ambala, Karnataka began with a splash, creating three new marks while winning four gold. That took their gold tally to 6, following their two in track and field.
On the wrestling mat, promising Antim, who was seconds away from beating 2018 Asian Games gold medallist Vinesh Phogat during the Commonwealth Games trials, dominated the Girls 53kg category to clinch her second Khelo India gold in three years. She was christened Antim as her parents wanted her, the fifth daughter, to be their last. But she has made it a habit of finishing first every time she enters a competition. The Hisar girl proved too strong for her opponents, winning three bouts by technical superiority and one by a fall. In the final, she did face a determined Maharashtra's Kalyani Gadekar but sailed through on her tactical acumen. "I am very happy that I am performing consistently and looking forward to next month's Asian U-20 Championships," she said. The other three gold for Haryana were bagged by Pulkit (Girls 65kg), Sahil (Boys GR 92kg) and Sagar Jaglan (Boys FS 80 kg), taking their wrestling tally to 16 gold, 10 silver and 9 bronze.
Maharashtra were a distant second with three gold, with Vaibhav Patil adding the Boys FS 55kg crown to their tally. Madhya Pradesh and Chandigarh wrestlers won one gold each.