The Khelo India program has been introduced to revive the sports culture in India at the grass-roots level by building a solid frameworkfor all sports played in our nation and build up India as a great sporting nation. Skilled players identified in priority sports disciplines at different levels by the High-Powered Committee will be provided annual financial assistance of INR 5 lakh per annum for 8 years.

Khelo India School Games, which are a part of the Khelo India programme is being held from 31st January to 8th February 2018 in New Delhi. Under-17 athletes have been welcomed to participate in over 16 disciplines, which are: Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Boxing, Football, Gymnastics, Hockey, Judo, Kabaddi, Kho-Kho, Shooting, Swimming, Volleyball, Weightlifting, and Wrestling.

The Haryana government has recently applied brakes on its prior choice to hold Khelo India Youth Games-2021 in November-December and has presently chosen to organise the sports show in February 2022, in view of the possible third wave of Covid-19 pandemic. The State Government had announced to hold the fourth version of the Youth Games in Panchkula, Ambala, Shahabad, Delhi and Chandigarh from November 21 to December 5. Different sports exercises in the under-18 category will be held in the Games.

The government had moreover declared that BRICS Games-2021 will be organised amid Khelo India. The BRICS nations incorporate Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The fourth version of the yearly national-level grassroots occasion will be held in the cities of Panchkula, Ambala, Shahabad, Chandigarh in the state of Haryana and capital New Delhi.

This will be the first time that the Khelo India Youth Games will be held away from the January window and in multiple cities. The inaugural edition in 2018 was held in New Delhi, the 2019 edition in Pune, Maharashtra, and last year in Guwahati, Assam.

The Khelo India Youth Games 2021 is set to organise 25 different sports, including traditional sports like Gatka, Kalaripayattu, Thang-ta, Mallakhamba, and Yogasana, which is able to include nearly 8,500 members under the age of 18.

The committee has also decided to host the BRICS Games 2021 alongside the Khelo India Youth Games in the same venues. The BRICS countries are Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The choice was taken in an official committee assembly of the Khelo India Youth Games, which too had representatives from the Sports Authority of India (SAI).

“The Games have been instrumental in identifying grassroots level talent from across the country, who have represented India in international sporting events,” Indian sports minister Kiren Rijiju had said earlier.

Haryana won the inaugural edition of the Khelo India Youth Games in 2018 and finished runner-up behind Maharashtra last year. With Haryana boasting a rich sporting history, the sports minister believed that handing the Khelo India Youth Games to the state was a step in the right direction.

Haryana already has a very strong sporting culture and has given the country some of its best athletes,” Rijiju said. “I am sure that with the Games being hosted in the state, more and more aspiring athletes from Haryana will be motivated to take up a competitive sport,” he hoped.

Cover image source - olympics.com