Khelo India to identify 1,000 athletes for support

Assuring that the Khelo India School Games to be held in December would be the best ever sports initiative at the school level, Rathore said 1,000 players would be selected for support with resources to the tune of about ₹5 lakh per year, for eight years.

Rathore said the government is equally focused on identifying a strong pool of coaches to guide the athletes, and keep everyone in the loop. The whole exercise will have a regular monitoring mechanism.

The Union Sports Minister, Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, emphasised the concept of Khelo India School Games , at the inauguration of the national workshop on “Sports for All”, here on Tuesday. Assuring that the Khelo India School Games to be held in December would be the best ever sports initiative at the school level, Rathore said it would be the platform for the best to showcase their talent.

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From that large pool, 1,000 players would be selected for support with resources to the tune of about ₹5 lakh per year, for eight years. Every year, 1,000 athletes would be added to the list to open avenues for talent spread across the country. The National Sports Talent search portal would be another method for identifying talented children and helping them with substantial guidance.

The minister said the government is equally focused on identifying a strong pool of coaches to guide the athletes, and keep everyone in the loop. The whole exercise will have a regular monitoring mechanism. Emphasising the need for professionalism, responsibility and accountability for promotion of sports in the country, the minister stressed that mismanagement would meet with zero tolerance.

The workshop was attended by about 80 people including Indian Olympic Association officials, Government officials, National observers, Sports Federation officials, representatives from School Games Federation and Association of Indian Universities, Sports Secretaries of State governments and Union Territories, members of Sports promotion boards and other sports promotion organisations.

The attempt would be to get everyone on the same page towards a common goal with a shared vision, so as “to harness the multiple benefits that sports offer”. It was clarified that Khelo India drive was about broad basing sports, in terms of spotting talent, providing opportunities for playing, creating competition and most importantly creating an awareness of physical fitness and good health across the country.