Preparations for Khelo India Youth Games to be over by Dec 31

Chandigarh, Dec 4 (IANS) Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday said all preparations the fourth edition of the Khelo India Youth Games in Panchkula would be completed by December 31 .

A total of 25 sporting events will be organised from February 5 to 14, in which about 10,000 players are expected to participate.

The opening ceremony will be held on February 5 at Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Sector 3 in Panchkula, he added.

The Chief Minister inspected the preparations being made for the Games at the stadium. Sports Minister Sandeep Singh also accompanied him.

Khattar expressed gratitude to the Prime Minister and the Union Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs for allowing Haryana to host the Khelo India Youth Games.

The Chief Minister said that five regional games have been added this time. They include gatka of Punjab, thang-ta of Manipur, kalaripayattu of Kerala, malkhamb of Maharashtra and Yogasan.

An amount of Rs 250 crore will be spent on the development of necessary infrastructure for the games, of which Rs 150 crore will be spent for infrastructure development and the remaining on equipment and developing facilities.

He said the entire arrangements are being made for the boarding, lodging, and transportation of the players.

Besides Panchkula, the games would be organized in Ambala, Shahabad, Chandigarh and Delhi. The Chief Minister said final matches of most of the games will start from February 8, which will be telecast live through Star Sports channel.

In response to a question regarding compliance of Covid-19 guidelines during the games, the Chief Minister said the health department is fully prepared to deal with any situation.

He said Haryana is progressing in sports and the state government is increasing the budget of sports every year. Where the budget of sports was Rs 151 crore in the year 2014-15, it has now increased to Rs 394 crore in 2021-22, which is more than double.

He said 500 sports nurseries, which were closed due to Covid-19, have been revived to nurture sports talent among the budding sportspersons under the government's Catch them Young Policy. In addition, 500 more sports nurseries will be developed.

He said sports stadia are being renovated at the village level. Besides, mapping is also being done by the government and where the number of sports stadia is less, sports stadia will be built as per the requirement.

Khattar said a scientific training and rehabilitation centre is being set up in Panchkula to prepare the players mentally and physically for sports. Besides, such centres will also be set up in Karnal, Hisar, Rohtak and Gurugram.