Preparations for Khelo India youth games to complete by December 31: Manohar Lal Khattar

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, December 4

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said on Saturday that all preparations would be completed by December 31 for the successful conduct of the fourth edition of the Khelo India Youth Games in Panchkula, which is scheduled to be held at Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Sector 3 here from February 5 to 14 next year.

Khattar was addressing mediapersons after taking stock of the preparations being made for the games at Tau Devi Lal Stadium here.

Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs Sandeep Singh was also present on the occasion.

As many as 25 different types of sport events will be organised during the games, in which about 10,000 players from across the country will participate. While 20 sports events are already being organised during the games, five regional games — Gatka of Punjab, Thang-Ta of Manipur, Kalaripayattu of Kerala, Malkhamb of Maharashtra and Yogasan — have been included in the 2022 season.

A sum of Rs250 crore will be spent on the development of necessary infrastructure for these games. While Rs150 crore will be spent on infrastructure development, Rs100 crore will be used on other equipment and facilities.

The CM said along with Panchkula, these games would be organised in Ambala, Shahabad, Chandigarh and Delhi. He said the final matches of most of the games would start on February 8 and would be telecast live on a private channel.

He said compliance of the Covid-19 guidelines would be ensured during the games.

The Chief Minister said Haryana was continuously progressing in sports. The state government was increasing the budget of sports every year, he added. From Rs151 crore in the financial year 2014-15, it has increased to Rs394 crore in 2021-22.

He said 500 sports nurseries, which were closed due to Covid-19, had been reopened. These nurseries aimed at nurturing sports talent under the government’s ‘Catch them young’ policy. In addition, 500 more such nurseries would be developed, Khattar added.

The Chief Minister said sports stadiums were being renovated at the village level. He said the government initiative to give Rs5 lakh in advance to Olympic players for preparations was being appreciated. Besides, Haryana was giving the highest cash awards to its Olympic medal winners.

He said a scientific training and rehabilitation centre was being set up in Panchkula to prepare players mentally and physically. Such centres would also be set up in Karnal, Hisar, Rohtak and Gurugram.

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