CHENNAI: Greater Chennai Corporation Mayor R Priya inaugurated a karate and taekwondo sports training programme for schoolgirls at Chennai High School (CHS) in Cooks Road. The initiative was part of the corporation’s 2024-25 budget announcement.
In the programme’s first phase, six schools across Chennai will offer training in sports like boxing, judo, karate, chess, carrom, taekwondo, and athletics, for six months. As many as 50 interested students from each school will receive 75 minutes of training twice a week under qualified coaches appointed on an honorarium basis.
When the training period concludes, competitions will be held for the students to encourage them to participate in zonal, district, state, and national events. As much as `30 lakh has been allocated for purchasing sports equipment and covering the travel expenses of those students participating in zonal, district, state, and national-level competitions.
During the event on Wednesday, Priya said that measures were being taken to extend the programme to other Chennai schools too. Speaking to TNIE, a corporation school teacher requested the corporation to also cover boy students under the initiative in the future. An official release from the corporation said the programme aims to empower girls physically, mentally, and intellectually.