5th Khelo India Youth Games Opens in MP at a Glittering Function in Bhopal

Bhopal: The fifth edition of Khelo India Youth Games 2022 started in Madhya Pradesh yesterday evening. These games will conclude on February 11.

Union Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Anurag Singh Thakur and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan inaugurated the Khelo India Youth Games-2022 in a colourful ceremony at Tatya Tope Nagar Stadium in Bhopal.

Addressing the inaugural ceremony, Mr Thakur said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made constant efforts to take sports forward in the country. The Prime Minister himself encourages the players by meeting them, he added.

He further said that these games have also given an opportunity to the children of poor families to move forward. Local sports and talents are now making a mark at the national and international levels through these games. Mr Thakur informed that in the next five years, a budget of 3200 crores will be given for Khelo India. The country’s sports budget has also been increased to two thousand crores.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that there will be no shortage of funds in Madhya Pradesh to enhance the talent of sportspersons.

He informed that eleven sports academies have been established for 18 sports in the state. Mr Chouhan announced that 5 lakh rupees will be given to the players, who win the medals for the state.

Union Minister of State for Sports Nisith Pramanik and Arunachal Pradesh Sports Minister Mama Natung were also present.

Well-known playback singers Shaan and Neeti Mohan enthralled the audience with their melodies performances. ‘Ek Bharat-Shreshtha Bharat’ was performed by famous South Indian drummer Shivamani and the group along with 100 folk artists. Apart from this, Abhilipsa Panda’s performance on ‘Har Har Shambhu’ and G-20’s ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ by Prince Dance Group also added colours to the opening ceremony.

Around six thousand players from across the country will try their sports skills for more than 900 medals including around three hundred gold medals in 27 sports events of these games.

Eight cities of Madhya Pradesh – Bhopal, Indore, Ujjain, Jabalpur, Gwalior, Mandla, Balaghat and Maheshwar and Delhi are hosting various sports events. Approximately 13,000 officers and 2,000 volunteers have been deployed to make this thirteen-day event a success. The Khelo India Youth Games was started in 2018 on the advice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Then the name of these games was Khelo India School Games.

The aim of these games is to find and groom sports talents at the local level and train them for national and international sports events.