Guwahati, February 18: Blending a collage of the cultures of the country's North-Eastern States with the razzmatazz of pop and Bollywood glamour, the curtain came down on the 33rd National Games here today.

On the medal tally, Services came back with a bang to outstrip runaway leaders Manipur who almost stalled at the finish line.

The defence contingent thus claimed the coveted Raja Bhalendra Singh Trophy for the first time.

Manipur ruled the combat sports but their haul slowed down thereafter.

The servicemen finished with 59 gold medals, 46 silver and 37 bronze to get ahead of Manipur (51-32-40).It was a remarkable achievement considering that the Services contingent consisted exclusively of men and thus had much fewer events to compete in.

There was reason for much cheer as the host state proved to be a force to be reckoned with in national sport with a tally of 148 medals, including 38 gold, for third place.

It was an incredible jump from a tally of 11 medals (one gold) achieved at Hyderabad in 2002. Significantly, the IOA presented a �special trophy� to the Manipur contingent for winning maximum number of gold medals among the competing States.

On the last day of the sporting extravaganza, Manipur bagged three gold in women�s team triathlon and men and women�s sepak takraw regu event, a silver medal in men�s team triathlon competition in addition to adding a bronze in individual competition of the same event.

Women trio of M Linthoingambi, Premita Devi and L Ashalata Devi completed the triathlon course and obstables in a total time of 8 hrs, 3 mins and 7.39 secs to clinch the gold medal while the men�s team finished second at 6 hrs, 14 mins and 27.59 secs.

In men�s individual competition of the same event, Mani Singh won the bronze.

State sepak takraw squad completed a clean sweep of all four top titles on offer winning the regu event finals in both the men and women�s categories today to add to the team competition gold medals won some day back.

In the women�s regu final played today, Manipur defeated hosts Assam 21-8, 21-13 while the men�s side outplayed their opponents from the same State 21-10, 21-4. An enthralling multi-hued closing ceremony, watched by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and a host of dignitaries, brought the 10-day multi-disciplinary sports extravaganza to an end at the packed Indira Gandhi Athletics Stadium.

The Prime Minister formally declared the Games closed, saluting the untiring efforts, undaunted spirit and enthusiasm of the sportspersons who took part in the competition.

"This evening we recognise the multitude of sporting talent in our midst.

We rejoice in your success.

All of you may not have won medals.

But I salute your untiring efforts, undaunted spirit and enthusiasm.

"Success is not the yardstick to assess one's abilities.

What matters is the spirit.

The spirit and the will to excel and endure," he said in his short speech.

Claiming that Guwahati has organised the best ever Games, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said "there was a doubt in many quarters about our capability to host such a mega event and we have proved them wrong.

We may not be rich but our hearts are large and warm, and we have determination and capability.

"We are happy that all of you are going back with fond memories of this beautiful state and its warm hearted people, its hospitality; and a new perception that this Guwahati city is absolutely normal as any other city in the country," he said.

Assam proved the doubting Thomases wrong as they hosted the Games in a manner that would make any state proud.

The north eastern state bid for the Games in a period of severe financial crunch and frequent floods and not many would have bet on a largely-incident free mega event.

There was speculation whether the Games would be held at all with the banned separatist outfit ULFA carrying out attacks on non-Assamese people throughout the state.

But the Games went better than most of the observers, including the Indian Olympic Association, had expected beforehand.

There were thousands of keen sports-lovers at each venue with many having to be sent back with the stadia already filled to the brim.

They came from far and wide and had to walk long distances to get to the venues but that did not dampen their enthusiasm.

The infrastructure was of the highest standards and the organisers left no stone unturned to make the players and other visitors comfortable.

The Games were the biggest so far with around 11,000 participants from 33 contingents (29 states, three union territories and Services).

There were a record 32 disciplines, including four debutants (lawn bowls, rugby sevens, wushu and karate).

In a heartening feature, as many as 30 teams, including debutants Nagaland and the tiny Andaman and Nicobar islands, managed to win medals.

The Games saw 46 meet records rewritten with another equalled as competitors showed true sporting spirit in striving to give their best performance to bring glory to their teams.

No wonder IOA President Suresh Kalmadi described the Guwahati national Games as the "best ever".

However, the bus accident involving 20 people, including 12 Services rowers, was an unfortunate incident to take place during the Games.

Fortunately, all the competitors were out of danger.

The weather, which was considered to be a concern in the lead-up, also co-operated to a large extent and only affected events on one day.

The ceremony was filled with nostalgia as after having fought hard for glory in 32 disciplines spread across 17 venues for 1395 medals, including 425 gold, the over ten thousand competitors bid adieu to each other with the promise to meet again in Jharkhand in 2008 for the next edition of the Games.

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