Why in news?

• Prime Minister Modi declared the “Khelo India Youth Games 2023” open at the Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai.
• The event, which is being held for the first time in a south Indian state, will feature over 5,600 athletes.

What’s in today’s article?

• Growing Sporting Culture in India
• News Summary

Growing Sporting Culture in India

Recent performances of India in international sports

• Tokyo Olympics 2020
  • India had its best-ever Olympics in Tokyo 2020 – with 7 medals, including an Olympic Gold in athletics, which is a first in the history of India.
  • India also had its best ever Paralympics with 19 medals
• Asian Games 2022
  • India bagged its highest-ever medals (107) in 60 years with 75 per cent more gold medals than in Asian Games 2018.
    • It bagged medals in 16 new sporting categories.
  • The remarkable achievement of Indian women athletes in this tournament is highlighted by the fact that they clinched around 50% of the total medals of Indian contingent.
  • Indian para-athletes too have created history with India’s highest-ever medal tally in the Para Asian Games with 111 medals, including 29 Gold medals.
  • This is India’s best-ever performance since the inception of the Games where India was ranked 5th in the overall medal tally.
• Other sports
  • This was followed by the Thomas Cup win for the first time in 72 years.
  • Also, the current World Boxing Champion, Nikhat Zareen, is from India.

Steps taken by the govt to promote sports

• Increased budget of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports
  • The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports received a budget allocation of Rs 3397.32 crore for 2023-2024, which is an 11% increase from the previous year.
• Institution involved
  • Various Sports Promotional Schemes across the country are implemented through:
    • Sports Authority of India (SAI),
    • National Centres of Excellence (NCOE),
    • SAI Training Centre (STC),
    • Extension Centre of STC,
    • National Sports Talent Contest (NSTC).
• Schemes
  • The Khelo India Scheme is being implemented by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports through its five verticals which promote sports in the entire country including the rural areas.
    • Khelo India is the basic platform to showcase sporting skills at the national level.
  • Under the ‘Talent Search and Development’ vertical of this scheme, Khelo India Athletes are identified, selected, and provided annual financial assistance of Rs 6.28 lakh per annum per athlete.
  • The Ministry organizes national-level multisport competitions, namely, Khelo India Youth Games, Khelo India University Games and Khelo India Winter Games.
  • TOPS (Target Olympic Podium Scheme) is another flagship program of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports which is an attempt to provide assistance to India’s top athletes.
  • ‘Meet the Champions’ initiative is aimed at making children aware about sports and nutrition with the help of the country’s best sportspersons.
    • It is a unique school visit campaign that was kicked off by Olympic Gold medallist Neeraj Chopra in December 2021.
• Sports Infrastructure – Khelo India Centres (KICs)
  • The launch of 1000 KICs at the district level with employment generation for local coaches has been a significant landmark in the sports ecosystem in India.
  • The Central Government’s partnership with various states has resulted in 31 Khelo India Centres of Excellence.
    • These Centres are primed to be state-of-the-art training centres for senior and elite athletes with a focus on specific sporting disciplines.
  • Besides, 257 Khelo India accredited academies, 500 private academies, and 27 adopted schools where Khelo India athletes train added to the strength of the sporting infrastructure.
  • Close to 17,500 playfields have been geo- tagged so that parents can easily find a place for their children to play around their residential area.
• Towards promoting inclusivity in sports
  • Special provisions are made for women athletes, such as organising the Khelo India Women’s Leagues to promote their participation in sports.
  • Constant efforts are on to include youngsters from all parts of the country, with special emphasis on Jammu and Kashmir and the LWE-affected areas.
  • There is also a special space of inclusion being created for divyang athletes.
    • In June 2023, a contingent of 198 divyang Indian athletes participated in the Special Olympics Summer Games 2023 in Berlin.
    • The Government extended financial support of Rs 7.7 crore towards the participation of the Indian contingent.
    • It also held a preparatory coaching camp at the Sports Authority of India’s JLN Stadium, New Delhi to prepare for the world event.

News Summary

• PM Modi inaugurated the opening ceremony of the 6^th Khelo India Youth Games 2023 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu ( Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium)
  • The games will be played across four cities of Tamil Nadu from January 19 to January 31 featuring 26 sporting disciplines with a mix of conventional sports and traditional ones.
• The mascot for the games is Veera Mangai.
  • Rani Velu Nachiyar, fondly called Veera Mangai, was an Indian queen who waged a war against British colonial rule.
  • The mascot symbolizes the valour and spirit of Indian women, embodying the strength of women power.
• The logo for the games incorporates the figure of poet Thiruvalluvar.