Sports Minister Anurag Thakur launches 33 Khelo India Centres in Rajasthan

Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Anurag Singh Thakur, launched 33 Khelo India Centers in Rajasthan on Wednesday. During the launch of the event, the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Ashok Chandna, was present as well.

He also announced that, along with 18 Khelo India centres, an additional National Center of Excellence with a dedicated Sports Science Center will be set up in Rajasthan. While addressing the event, the Union Minister said that they want all the states to grow in terms of sports, therefore, more medals would come to India.

Talking about the success of athletes under the Khelo India Athletes and Target Olympic Podium Scheme, Thakur mentioned that in the last few years, several Indian athletes have done well on the international stage.

"This is an unbelievable phase for Indian sports. In 60 years, there were only 18 medals at the World University Games. This year itself, we won 26 medals in the tournament", he said.

While inaugurating the centers, the Minister also announced that there would be coaching programmes in these centers as well. These coaches will be trained under the guidance of Indian as well as international coaches. The Union Minister Thakur also mentioned that there would be sports events and competitions organized between the Khelo India Centers.

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What are the Khelo India Programmes?

Khelo India Programmes have been introduced by the Government of India in order to promote sports all over the country and to revive the sports culture in India at the grassroots level. The aim of the Khelo India Programmes is to build a strong framework at the grassroots level.

Currently, the programmes work in ten verticals, including the promotion of rural games, physical fitness for the school, sports for all women and also for people with special abilities, talent search and development across the country. Apart from that, the programmes will also support the state-level Khelo India Centers and the national and state sports academies.

Under the Khelo India Games, currently, there are more than 17,000 athletes getting trained in different sports, including wushu, basketball, fencing, and hockey amongst others. The athletes who come under the Khelo India Scheme will be provided with the required annual financial support.