Chhattisgarh Becomes Champion Again at All India Forest Sports Competition, Creates History

Chhattisgarh wins first place with 150 medals and 578 points

Chhattisgarh bags the Overall Championship Trophy for the 13th consecutive time

Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Deo Sai and Forest Minister Shri Kedar Kashyap extend congratulations and best wishes

Raipur, Nov 2025 : Chhattisgarh has once again created history at the All India Forest Sports Competition. In the 28th All India Forest Sports Meet held in Dehradun, the state secured the first position on the medal tally with a stellar performance. This year, Chhattisgarh clinched a total of 150 medals and 578 points, claiming the championship title for the second consecutive year. Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Deo Sai and Forest Minister Shri Kedar Kashyap congratulated all players and teams for their outstanding performance and wished them continued success in the future.

The 28th All India Forest Sports Meet was held in Dehradun from 12 to 17 November. Chhattisgarh secured the top spot by winning 74 gold, 34 silver, and 42 bronze medals. A total of 253 members represented the state in the competition.

Several participants from Chhattisgarh delivered exceptional individual performances:

• Best Male Player Nikhil Zalko won 5 gold medals in swimming.
• Best Female Player Sangeeta Rajgopalan won 4 gold and 1 silver in badminton and tennis.
• Best Female Athlete (Open Category) Thota Sankirtana won 5 gold medals, earning the title of “Golden Girl”.
• Best Athlete (Male Veteran) Sukhnandan Lal Dhruv won 5 gold medals.
• Best Athlete (Female Veteran) Charulata Gajpal won 4 gold medals.

Chhattisgarh secured the Overall Championship Trophy for the 13th consecutive time. At the closing ceremony, Uttarakhand Governor Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Gurmeet Singh and Uttarakhand Forest Minister Shri Subodh Uniyal jointly presented the Overall Championship Trophy, which was received on behalf of Chhattisgarh by Ms. Shalini Raina. Additional Chief Secretary Smt. Richa Sharma and Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Shri V. Srinivas Rao also congratulated all the players.

In the All India Forest Sports Meet, Kerala secured second place with 31 gold medals, and Karnataka secured third place with 25 gold medals, while the host state Uttarakhand finished sixth.

A special initiative linked the competition with environmental conservation. Under the concept of “One Sport – One Tree”, a tree was planted in the name of each medal-winning athlete, thereby promoting a message of nature conservation along with sportsmanship.