Khelo India Youth Games 2020 Preview: Day 1 kicks off in Guwahati with Kabaddi action

The third edition of the Khelo India Youth Games 2020 will be held in the North-East Indian city of Guwahati, Assam, as the preliminary action kicks off on 9th January 2020. The competition will culminate on 22nd January 2020 as young athletes in the U-17 and U-21 age categories will compete across a wide variety of sporting events.

A total of 20 sporting disciplines will be held at the event with young athletes from all across the nation competing and representing their respective states. The Khelo India School Games saw Haryana dominate proceedings in the first edition held in 2018 and take the top spot with a total of 102 medals (38 Gold, 26 Silver and 38 Bronze medals) followed by Maharashtra and Delhi.

In 2019, the Khelo India Youth Games was introduced and held in Pune, Maharashtra which saw the home state Maharashtra take the top position with a massive haul of 228 medals (85 Gold, 62 Silver and 60 Bronze medals) followed by Haryana and Delhi in the medal rankings.

The Khelo India Youth Games 2020 edition will witness the best young athletes in India compete at the platform provided by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports for a chance to develop talent at an early stage for future success.

The first day will see action in Kabaddi, Gymnastics and Volleyball in the preliminary rounds as the major events kick off from 10th January 2020.

The Kabaddi event will be held at the Lakshmibai National Institute of Physical Education, Sonapur, Guwahati as teams from eight states battle it out in both the U-17 and U-21 age categories for the boys and girls.

Some of the young stars from the past editions like Ajith V (Tamil Nadu), Sachin Narwal (Chandigarh), Sushil Gulia (Haryana), Pankaj Mohite (Maharashtra), Bunty (Haryana) have gone on to feature for Pro Kabaddi League franchises, further showing the dearth of talent that can be found in the Khelo India Games year on year.

Group Classification for Kabaddi at the Khelo India Youth Games 2020:

Under-17 Category:

Boys (Group A): Assam. Maharashtra, Chhatisgarh, Haryana

Boys (Group B): Bihar, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Delhi

Girls (Group A): Haryana, Kerala, Bihar, Delhi

Girls (Group B): Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Tamil Nadu

Under-21 Category:

Boys (Group A): Chandigarh, Gujarat, Assam, Maharashtra

Boys (Group B): Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana

Girls (Group A): Assam, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh

Girls (Group B): Rajasthan, Haryana, Karnataka, Rajasthan

Khelo India Kabaddi Schedule of Day 1

09:30 AM: Chandigarh vs. Assam (Group A BOYS U-21)

09:30 AM: Rajasthan vs. Karnataka (Group B BOYS U-17)

09:30 AM: Haryana vs. Assam (Group A BOYS U-17)

10:30 AM: Chhattisgarh vs. Assam (Group B GIRLS U-17)

10:30 AM: Haryana vs. Kerala (Group A GIRLS U-17)

10:30 AM: Tamil Nadu vs. Telangana (Group B BOYS U-21)

11:30 AM: Haryana vs. Karnataka (Group B GIRLS U-21)

11:30 AM: Maharashtra vs. Gujarat (Group A BOYS U-21)

11:30 AM: Himachal Pradesh vs. Assam (Group A GIRLS U-21)

03:00 PM: Delhi vs. Bihar (Group B BOYS U-17)

03:00 PM: Chattisgarh vs. Maharashtra (Group A BOYS U-17)

03:00 PM: Uttar Pradesh vs. Telangana (Group B BOYS U-21)

04:00 PM: Tamil Nadu vs. Madhya Pradesh (Group B GIRLS U-17)

04:00 PM: Delhi vs. Bihar (Group A GIRLS U-17)

05:00 PM: Rajasthan vs. Chhatisgarh (Group B GIRLS U-21)

05:00 PM: Uttar Pradesh vs. Tamil Nadu (Group A GIRLS U-21)

The Gymnastics events will be held at Bhogeshwari Phukanani Indoor Stadium, Dispur, whereas the Volleyball preliminary games will take place at Nabin Chandra Bordalai Indoor Hall, Sarusajai Sports Complex in Guwahati.