Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will inaugurate the fifth edition of the Khelo India Youth Games at the Tatya Tope Stadium in Bhopal on January 30 at 7 pm.
Union Sports and Youth Welfare Minister Anurag Thakur will be the special guest at the inaugural programme in which about 21,000 people will participate, a government note said.
A presentation on the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi towards sports will be made on this occasion.
The national-level event will continue till February 11 and see the participation of around 10,000 athletes and officials from 36 states and union territories in the country.
Khelo India Youth games are annual multidisciplinary grassroots games held in two categories – for under-17 school students and under-21 college students. The best 1000 students are given Rs 5 lakh annual scholarships for eight years to prepare them for international sporting events.
This year, the Khelo India Youth Games will feature a total of 27 disciplines with water sports being included for the first time. New disciplines like Canoe Slalom, Kayaking, Canoeing and Rowing will also feature alongside the usual sports and the indigenous games, Thakur had earlier told media persons.
Youth and students from all the districts of the state will be connected with the national-level sports event, under which sports competitions will be held in different venues at Bhopal, Indore, Ujjain, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Mandla, Maheshwar and Balaghat. Special instructions have been issued to the district collectors in this regard.
During the inaugural programme, a tricolour light show and special presentations on Mahakal and Narmada River will be held. Singer Abhilipsa Panda will give a presentation of her popular rendition 'Har-Har Shambhu', while Tandava Nritya (dance) will be performed by the Nataraj Group. There will also be a dance and song presentation on the theme ‘Ek Bharat-Shreshtha Bharat’ from different regions of the state.
Renowned singers Shaan, Neeti Mohan and Bainidayal will present patriotic and sports-based songs in the programme. Along with this, a programme will be presented on the theme of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' with the flags of all G-20 countries and there will be grand fireworks.
CM Chouhan reviewed the preparations for the games on Wednesday and said that hosting the event in Madhya Pradesh will help in promoting sports culture in the state. Sports and Youth Welfare Minister Yashodhara Raje Scindia, Additional Chief Secretary Home Rajesh Rajoura, Principal Secretary Deepti Gaur Mukherjee and other officers were present during the review meeting.
