Isha Gramotsavam

Isha Gramotsavam is a decade-old rural sports festival held in the state of Tamil Nadu by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev led Isha Foundation. Entering into its 14th year of games, it currently attracts 40,000 players from over 4,000 villages. Of these 34,000 players are men while 6,000 are women. It’s primary objective is to rekindle the rural spirit through sports. The major games played are Volleyball for men, Throwball for women and Kabaddi for both.

The first stage matches were held at 77 locations across the state for Volleyball and 16 locations for Throwball. The district level matches for Kabaddi were held in all 32 districts in a single weekend, quite a feat to achieve.

This year the tournament began on October 20th and will end with the finale on Dec 9th. The finale is to be held in Texvalley, Erode with Sadhguru, Hon. Governor of Tamil Nadu Shri Banwarilal Purohit and Olympic bronze medalist, weightlifter Karnam Malleswari as the chief guests.

Format

This 3 month tournament consists of four stages including the final. The first stage is the cluster level where teams representing their villages compete against each other. Off the 77 clusters, 8 qualified for the next level, the Divisional level where they meet teams from other parts of the state. 4 winners from the Divisional level met teams at the Zonal level.

2 teams from each of the 4 zones will play in the finals for the title.

Event timeline

Cluster level matches(Volleyball) - October 20th & 21st. Cluster level matches(Throwball) - October 27th & 28th. District level matches (Kabaddi)- November 17th & 18th Divisional level matches (Volleyball) - November 17th & 18th Zonal level matches ( Volleyball, Throwball & Kabaddi) - November 24th & 25th. Finale (Volleyball, Throwball, Kabaddi & Paralympics) - December 9th.

Team Data

Volleyball - Cluster level - 77 locations, 1600 teams.

Throwball - Cluster level - 16 locations, 301 teams

Kabaddi Men - District level - 32 locations, 1100 teams.

Kabaddi Women - District level - 32 locations, 220 teams.

Paralympics team - 16 teams + art and folk teams, traditional sports teams