Rural Olympics concludes in Ludhiana

The famed rural olympics or Kila Raipur Sports Festival in Ludhiana, Punjab, concluded on Sunday.

Thrilling bullock cart race, dog race and stunts on motorbikes were the crowd puller at the show.

Hundreds of enthusiastic spectators gathered to watch tricky stunts by athletes amid fascinating dances by trained animals.

The event witnessed encouraging participation of local athletes in various games that were categorised separately for men and women in young and veteran sections.

Meanwhile, in between sporting events the crowd of spectators was constantly amused by a plethora of stuntmen who performed astonishing and risky feats.

An organiser, Gurpal Singh, believed that this platform helps in influencing young children to adopt the modern games.

"We organise these Olympic Games here as we want children to adopt the modern games like cycling, hockey, athletics and a lot more. So this is a platform where we show the games to children so that they get influenced and choose these sports. Like education, sports are equally important for the development of a child," said Singh.

Hundreds of sports enthusiasts, including foreigners, flock to the town to participate in the events and watch special breed of bullocks, camels, dogs, mules and other animals competing.

The sports meet started on January 30. The total budget for the annual festival was rupees 3.5 million, out of which 1.2 million was spent on prize distribution.

The Rural Olympics have been going on for the past 77 years. It began in the year 1933 by Inder Singh Grewal.

A joint initiative by the village authorities, the government and non-resident Punjabis, the annual rural sports meet is held every year to inspire youngsters to take on rural sports at both national and international level.

For many participants, it's a family tradition to take part in the sports meet and win.