Anurag Thakur inaugurates 33 Khelo India centers across Rajasthan
Jaipur (IANS). Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Singh Thakur inaugurated 33 Khelo India Centers in Rajasthan at Sawai Mansingh Stadium here on Wednesday.
The Sports Minister also announced that a National Center of Excellence with a dedicated Sports Science Center will be set up in Rajasthan along with additional 18 Khelo India Centres, thus taking the total number of Khelo India Centers in the state to 51.
The event was also attended by Ashok Chandna, Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of Rajasthan, other eminent dignitaries from the State, Ministry of YAS and Sports Authority of India.
Addressing the program, Thakur said, “We want all the states to move forward in terms of sports. More medals will come for India when state governments work in tandem with the central government to come up with a consensus approach to the Games. The success of the Khelo India scheme as well as the Target Olympic Podium scheme has resulted in highest number of medals at the international level over the years, be it Olympics or Paralympics or Commonwealth Games or historic events like the Thomas Cup win. ,
He added, “Last Panghal also created history by becoming the Under-20 Wrestling World Champion twice. In chess too, Praggnanandhaa reached the finals of the FIDE World Cup. This is an incredible phase for Indian sports. In 60 years, the World University in Sports There were only 18 medals. This year itself, we won 26 medals in the tournament.”
Currently, more than 17,000 athletes are training at KIC and 699 former champion athletes have already been hired across the country. At present the total number of Khelo India Centers notified across India is 960 out of which 715 are operational KICs.
The total number of notified KICs in Rajasthan is 33, out of which 32 KICs are operational. These KICs are specialized training centers that look after cycling, basketball, wushu, hockey and other sports disciplines.
Referring to the importance of Khelo India, the Minister said, “The Khelo India Games have a big role to play in this success. Every year, many athletes participate in youth, university and winter sports, and the exposure brings them to big venues like these. Going forward. Through these Khelo India centres, I hope that more and more athletes from Rajasthan will be groomed from here. Current, past and future athletes are also getting groomed through these.”
By augmenting the utilization of existing sports infrastructure available in schools, organizations and other eligible agencies at the block or district level, the small Khelo India centers help in strengthening the sports ecosystem at the grassroots level.
At KIC, past champion athletes become coaches and mentors to the youth, autonomously running the sports training center and earning their livelihood. Under the Khelo India scheme, initial and annual financial assistance is also provided to these former champions as well as to these centers for sports training, coaching and operations.
