The 37th National Games organisers in collaboration with Harley Davidson Bike Owners Goa Chapter and Mayfair Hotels organised a bike rally on Sunday from Tilak Maidan, Vasco to the Campal Games Village to raise awareness for the Games and also encourage people to come and watch the sporting extravaganza.

About 10,000 athletes are competing for glory in over 40 sports disciplines in the National Games that are being held at five different locations for over a fortnight.

The rally, which saw over 30 owners participate, was flagged off by Games Technical Committee Chairman Amitabh Sharma and the riders covered a distance of about 35 kilometres during which they raised awareness about the Games and what they mean for the state.

Addressing the riders, Sharma said “Goa has always been the most popular tourist destination in the country. By organising the National Games, the state has underlined its potential as a future sports hub.”

Harley Davidson Riders Goa Chapter director Francis Gomes said, “National Games provides everyone a platform to interact with players from across the country and promotes Unity in Diversity,”

“The moto of these Games is Judenge, Jiyenge, JItenge and it is the need of the hour,” he added.

The rally saw different models of Harley Davidson like 90s classic, 40x among others. “Harley is not just a bike but an emotion. We believe that the bike chooses you and not the other way around,” said Goa chapter Deputy Director A Mendis.

The owners also enjoyed watching action in weightlifting, Pencak Silat, table tennis and swimming at Campal.

Mayfair Elixir Managing Director Bjorn Deniese, who was instrumental in arranging the bike rally, said, “We are elated to be associated with the National Games in Goa and Harley Davidson. We are confident that chief minister Pramod Sawant’s vision of developing sports tourism in the state through this platform will definitely come true.”

Kareena Shirodkar created history in her very first Pencak Silat competition to help Goa clinch their second gold medal of the 37th National Games on Sunday.

The 23-year-old, who recently completed her Bachelor’s degree in Law and wants to pursue criminal lawyer, dominated Jammu and Kashmir’s Jiya Choudhary 30-15 to clinch the gold medal in the Tanding Female 80-85 kg category at the Campal Sports Village.

With her family and entire Goa team cheering her, Shirodkar looked confident from the start, opening up a 11-8 lead in the opening round and never looked back.

“I am very happy that I could win the gold medal for Goa in my very first Pencak Silat competition. I love martial arts and started learning this sport just over a month ago and loved it,” said Shirodkar, who has already represented the state at the national level in Taekwondo.

Asked what made her shift to Pencak Silat when Taekwondo is also part of the National Games, the Miramar resident said she basically loves to learn new martial art forms and decided to learn this sport as it is also a combat sport.

Goa has had considerable success in Pencak Silat at the National Games with the hosts adding seven bronze medals in Tanding through Anslet Sebastian (female 55-60 kg),

Chloe Furtado (female 75-80 kg), Asha Naik (female 65-70 kg), Mohd. Irfan Khan (male 65-70 kg), Ganpatrao Desai (male 75-80 kg) and Sagar Palconda (male 85-90 kg) and Siraj Khan (Male 90-95 kg).

The rich haul in Pencak Silat means Goa now has bagged a total of 23 medals including two gold, four silver and 17 bronze.

Goa’s Sanjana Prabugaonkar bagged her maiden senior medal when she clinched the women’s 200m freestyle silver medal on home turf in the 37th National Games at the Campal Swimming Pool on Sunday.

The 16-year-old, who now trains at the Aqua Nation Sports Academy in Dubai, clocked a timing of 2:08.89 seconds to finish behind Dhinidhi desinghu of Karnataka. Vritti Agarwal of Telangana won the bronze medal.

Sanjana, who had won multiple medals at the junior level, was understandably elated with her performance as she has been troubled with a shoulder injury and had not been training regularly for the last six months and had not competed for a while.

“It’s been a month since I started training regularly. And it feels good to have a meet in my hometown and win my first National Games medal,” said Sanjana, who has been swimming since the age of 7.

Asked about her decision to train in Dubai, Sanjana said the decision was taken during the covid lockdown to go and train in UAE as it was difficult to practice in India. “I liked the training there and then we decided to continue training there.”

Sanjana and her mother now stay in Dubai and the 16-year-old only comes to Goa to give her exams, completing her academies through home tuitions.

“This medal has only motivated me further to work harder,” she added.

Pernem MLA Shri Pravin Arlekar said that it is a proud feeling to see Goan sportspersons participating in the 37th National Games and winning medals for the state.

He was speaking as the chief guest for the inauguration of the Rowing and Kayaking disciplines of the National Games in Chapora River on Saturday.

“I am proud and excited that Goa is hosting the 37th National Games. I was the chief guest for the netball function yesterday. It was a nice feeling to see Goans taking part in the sport and winning medals for the state. This is a proud moment for us. Goa does not have sportspersons in rowing as the sport does not have a presence in the state. Our Goan children should take it up,” he said.

He further went on to mention that youngsters from all corners of the state should be aware of these Games and take up various sports.

“They should make Goa and India proud. We have a lot of youngsters who need to come out and take up sports. It’s nice to see our dynamic Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant who has taken this initiative to host the Games in Goa. Our Sports Minister Shri Govind Gaude has also given an opportunity for Goa’s youngsters to take part in the Games. The BJP government has done a commendable job to promote sportspersons, “he said.

Arlekar further went on to congratulate the athletes from across the country who are participating in the Games.