Government to promote sports in Rural Areas through multi-sport championship

The minister .said, these games including Athletics, wrestling, Kho-Kho, Kabaddi and Volley Ball will be organized with a lot of fanfare and publicity.
India's Sakshi Malik (red) wrestles with Kirghyzstan's Aisuluu Tynybekova in their women's 58kg freestyle bronze medal match during the wrestling event of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Carioca Arena 2 in Rio de Janeiro. (File|AFP)
India's Sakshi Malik (red) wrestles with Kirghyzstan's Aisuluu Tynybekova in their women's 58kg freestyle bronze medal match during the wrestling event of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Carioca Arena 2 in Rio de Janeiro. (File|AFP)

NEW DELHI: In a bid to promote sports in rural areas and to identify sports talents from there, the union sports ministry is starting multi-sport championship.  It will start from rural belts of Delhi and will be replicated across the country. Ministry is also inviting renowned wrestlers, Geeta Phogat, Yogeshwar Dutt and Sushil Kumar to participate in demonstration matches. 

Union sports minister Vijay Goel said that the first such sports competition Delhi Gramin Khel Mahotsav 2017 will be organized in Delhi in association with Delhi Government from 25th to 31st March 2017, to invite the talent from rural areas of Delhi.

“A need has been felt to deepen the sports culture among the rural youth. The festival will help involve rural youth in large number to participate in popular sports and will encourage them to achieve excellence and adopt healthy life style. These Games are intended to act as a catalyst to promote sports in rural areas of the entire country and are going to be replicated in other States as well,” said the minister.

The minister said, these gamesincluding Athletics, wrestling, Kho-Kho, Kabaddi and Volley Ball will be organized with a lot of fanfare and publicity and are being packaged to make them very attractive. It expected that the Games will garner great participation in terms of athletes as well as viewers. Efforts are being made to involve as many athletes from rural villages of Delhi as possible.

Goel said, five blocks namely, Alipur, Nangloi, Najafgarh, Mehrauli and Shadara will participate in the games. The qualifying matches will be organized in the respective blocks. The Inter-block competitions will be held in Bawana and Finals will be conducted in Indira Gandhi Stadium, New Delhi.

Before start of semi-finals and finals, an opening ceremony will be held on 28th March, 2017 and the conclusion of the game will be followed by a closing ceremony on 31st March, 2017 at Indira Gandhi Stadium.

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