Khelo India to Create Conducive Environment & Culture for Sports

Last Updated on March 31, 2019 by Bharat Saini

Mission Olympics Sports Meet-2019, Sports meet in six different disciplines held at six different locations in Delhi, organized by Police Families Welfare Society (PFWS) of Delhi Police on 3 & 4 January 2019, culminated with the closing ceremony at Ambedkar Stadium graced by Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore (Retd), Minister (I/C) of Youth Affairs and Sports & Information and Broadcasting, where Col. Rathore elaborating several steps being taken by the Government to promote sports culture in the country, said:

• Government is trying to identify the sportspersons at very young age so that they can be trained and nurtured to become world class champions.
• Soon physical test for 2 crore youngsters of age between 8 and 12 will be started, and on the basis of data, 1000 of them will be selected for further training.
• By the time, they reach the age of 18; they will be ready for participation in international events.
• Second Khelo India Games will be held in Pune in 2019 from 9^th of January in which over 9500 young athletes will take part.
• There is now an enabling and conducive environment for them to show their talent and the opportunities for sportspersons are galore.
• Youngsters of India should become good citizens and good human beings, this requires healthy body and sharp mind, and sport fields give them good exposure and experience.

Col. Rathore lauded efforts of Delhi Police in arranging Mission Olympics Sports Meet-2019, and congratulated PFWS for having undertaken its social responsibility for the nation in forthcoming Olympics Games-2020 through a sustainable sporting programme. A highlight of the sports meet was inclusion of Paralympics to promote Divyang players which was participated by Ms Sangeeta Bhandari in shot-put & discuss-throw event at J.L.N. Stadium.

Khelo India School Games were inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday 31 January 2018 as the first step towards making the country a strong contender at the Olympic level. A revamped version of the original National School Games, Khelo India is the U-17 events which feature only 16 disciplines identified as most likely to win medals at the Olympic Games. “The best athletes will be given the best training and the best coaches. If needed we will send them abroad for better training,” Modi said at the launch of the tournament. The best 1000 athletes at the Khelo India Games will get scholarship of ₹5 lakh every year for a period of eight years. “This is to ensure that sportspersons from poor backgrounds are not forced to give up sports due to lack of funds,” the Prime Minister said. The events are archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, football, gymnastics, hockey, judo, kabaddi, kho-kho, shooting, swimming, volleyball, weightlifting and wrestling.

Revamped Khelo India Scheme was launched with the vision to infuse sports culture and with a view to achieve the twin objectives of mass participation and promotion of excellence in sports. The mission is to encourage sports for all thus allowing the population across gender and all age groups to harness the power of sports through its cross-cutting influence, namely, holistic development of children & youth, community development, social integration, gender equality, healthy lifestyle, national pride and economic opportunities related to sports development.

• Under the Khelo India identified sports talents will be given option to join SAI National Sports Academies, State Sports Academies or Sports Academies established by private sector.
• Grants-in-aid will be provided for establishment, operation and maintenance of sports academies in respect of identified disciplines to Sports Authority of India, State Governments or to private sector or sports person under Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode for facilitating and supplementing Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) programme for 8 years.
• The best academies might be at National, Regional or State level, both in public and private sector.
• Academies will be identified for need-based support, both recurring and non-recurring, by inviting proposals from suitable entities.
• A system would be developed for rating of academics to facilitate selection of appropriate academics for support.
• At least one academy for Para Athletes will be supported.

The importance of sports and fitness in one’s life is invaluable. Playing sports inculcates team spirit, develops strategic & analytical thinking, leadership skills, goal setting and risk taking. A fit and healthy individual leads to an equally healthy society and strong nation.

Sports are an extremely important component for the overall development of our nation. India, in the last few years has made steady progress in the field of sports. This tremendous potential needs to be showcased at a global platform. It’s time we inspire young talent, give them top-notch infrastructure and training of the highest level. We need to inculcate a strong spirit of participation in sports that enables players to demonstrate their true potential. Only then can India realise its dream of becoming a sports super power.