Special gifts for officials’ wards!

Deepankar Sharda

Panchkula, June 12

While the winners at the Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG) struggle it out to win souvenir ‘Dhakad’, there are some lucky kids who are getting this memento as gift.

The souvenir is presented to the top three position holders along with the medals at the ongoing games. However, the children of some Haryana Government officials were seen carrying this memento across the stadium. “I got this from my uncle (name withheld). He gave us T-shirts also,” said a kid whose parents are among the top officials of the Sports Department.

Meanwhile, schoolchildren coming to watch boxing matches today were not even given proper attention. Officials claimed that the mementos were given to some children to promote the event on television. However, they couldn’t explain why the schoolchildren were left out.

Sources claimed some officials had even managed to get the KIYG T-shirts of the exact size for their wards. “There’s no harm in giving a memento. Rather, it’s a memory which children will remember for the rest of their lives. However, it should also be distributed among schoolchildren who are coming to watch matches here. It would be better if 50 schoolchildren brought here to watch matches were given the memento and shown on television,” said a coach.

More than 8,500 players are participating in the games and each of them has been given a proper kit. “The Haryana Education Department is bringing schoolchildren to show them matches. They should be encouraged to watch these matches with such small gestures. Rather, they are just made to sit in a designated place silently,” a teacher said.