It is often said that the foundation for sports should be laid right from the childhood. And who else could have better understood it than an Olympic silver medalist himself. I am here to share with you all about the School Games that are to be organised in New Delhi from 31 January under the Ministry of Sports headed by the Sports Minister himself, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore.
The Khelo India School Games, in 16 disciplines from archery to wrestling for boys and girls will be hosted at the iconic venues of the Capital.
Eight disciplines, badminton, basketball, boxing, gymnastics, judo, kabaddi, volleyball and wrestling will be staged at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium Complex.
There will be five disciplines at the Nehru Stadium, including archery, which has been proposed to be hosted at the India Gate. Athletics, kho-kho, football and weightlifting are scheduled at the Nehru Stadium as well.
The Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Swimming Complex, Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium and the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range will host swimming, hockey and shooting respectively.
The Khelo India Games will be open only to select students in the under-17 age group, who meet clearly specified criteria. There will be a specific number of teams and players in each discipline.
There will be a total of 209 gold medals up for grabs with the major share going to athletics(36), swimming(35), wrestling(30), boxing(26), gymnastics(20), judo(16) and weightlifting(16).
The selection of athletes for each discipline has also been clarified. The top 8 from the 63rd SGFI National School Games will be taken apart from four nominations from federation, one each from CBSE and host state apart from two wild card entries for individual events.
In team competition, the top four from the National School Games will be joined by two nominated by the federation apart from one each from the host State and the organizing committee.
For the three disciplines archery, badminton and shooting, the top 16 from the National School Games will be joined by 8 nominated by the federation, one each from CBSE, host state and organizing committee, apart from six wild card entries.
The best talent selected from the Khelo India Games will gain scholarship to the tune of about 5 lakh each per year.
Rathore’s approach certainly is inspiring but given India’s propensity to change sports ministers like shirts, his tenure in the hot seat will be crucial. Not a stranger to chasing records, Rathore will have to equal if not better Margaret Alva or Mani Shankar Aiyar’s tenure as a sports minister.
