Boxers' golden punch hands KIYG crown to hosts Haryana

Haryana's boxers delivered the golden punch on the last and final day to capture the Khelo India Youth Games crown in dramatic fashion here on Monday. Tied on 41 gold with Maharashtra, the hosts swooped on as many as 10 out of the 20-boxing gold on offer to surge past the defending champions. Haryana ended their campaign with a grand tally of 52 gold, 39 silver and 46 bronze medals to reinforce their status as the country's premier sporting state.

Maharashtra, who fought tooth and nail from Day 1, abdicated their throne, after managing 45 gold, 40 silver and 40 bronze. Karnataka finished third with 22 gold, including a whopping 19 from the swimming pool. Manipur were fourth with 19 gold and Kerala fifth with 18.

Interestingly, Maharashtra began the day on a high note, regaining the mallakhamb boy's individual pole gold which was held back on Sunday after a protest. Their kho-kho boys and girls expectedly clinched both the gold to even put them ahead on the medals' table. Haryana's girls mustered the handball gold, narrowly beating Himachal Pradesh 29-28, to continue breathing down their necks.

But once the action shifted to the boxing ring, it turned out to be a windfall for Haryana. Six out of their eight pugilists knocked down the gold in the girls' category while four out of their five boys danced to the top of the podium. Maharashtra had four contenders in boxing finals but only one of them could return triumphant.

In the end, Haryana's superiority in boxing (10) and wrestling (16) proved to be the difference in the overall equation. Their swimmers and weightlifters contributed a handsome four gold medals each too. Maharashtra's athletes bagged eight gold medals while their swimmers, gymnasts and yogasana players