India, the overall champion over all the 11 previous editions of the South Asian Games, has crossed a historic milestone of winning its 1,000th gold in the Games. The host which entered the fortnight-long competition with a tally of 900 gold medals, crossed the landmark when swimmer Veerdhawal Khade won the men’s 50m butterfly title.

Medal Details

India had won 44 golds in the inaugural edition at Kathmandu in 1984 followed by 61 (Dhaka, 1985), 91 (Kolkata, 1987), 61 (Islamabad, 1989), 64 (Colombo, 1991), 60 (Dhaka, 1993), 106 (Chennai [then Madras], 1995), 102 (Kathmandu, 1999), 103 (Islamabad, 2004), 118 (Colombo, 2006) and 90 (Dhaka, 2010). The host is also likely to overhaul its best ever tally of 118-59-37 achieved in Colombo 2006 with five days remaining.

South Asian Games

• The South Asian Games (SAF Games, SAG, or SA games, & formerly known as South Asian Federation Games) are a biennial multi-sport event held among the athletes from South Asia.
• At present, SAG are joined by eight members namely Afghanistan,Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka.
• These Games are often hyped as the South Asian version of Olympic Games.