Trials for 6 sports events under Khelo India begin in Ludhiana

Assistant commissioner (General) Kritika Goyal said any child between the ages of 9 and 18 can give a trial to participate in football, volleyball, athletics, kho kho, kabaddi and wrestling

The joint venture of Sports Authority of India and district administration under “Khelo India” was launched by assistant commissioner (General) Kritika Goyal at the local Multipurpose Sports Hall on Monday. Football trials were conducted on Monday, in which more than 200 athletes participated and the volleyball trials would be conducted on Tuesday.

Officials checking the height and weight of the players before the Khelo India Rising Talent Identification assessment trials at Multipurpose Stadium in Ludhiana on Monday. (Gurpreet Singh/HT)

Goyal said any child between the ages of 9 and 18 can give a trial to participate in football, volleyball, athletics, kho kho, kabaddi and wrestling. She said after the trial, the merit list will be prepared and talented children will be selected. She added that these children will be provided with enhanced coaching and sports grants.

“The sports trials under Khelo India would be held till August 2 at the SAI Training Centre, Multipurpose Sports Hall Ludhiana,” said Goyal.

She informed that the Khelo India scheme was launched by the government in 2017. “Since its inception, the Khelo India scheme has had a transformative impact on the nation’s sports ecosystem. In recent years, we have had our best ever performance in the Olympics, Paralympics, Asian Games, Para Asian Games and Commonwealth Games,” she said.

She further informed that the Sports Authority of India, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, has launched ‘Kirti’ (Khelo India Rising Talent) on My Bharat, Khelo India portal to identify talent at the grassroots level, on March 12 from Chandigarh.

On this occasion, district sports officer Rupinder Singh Brar and nodal officer Rakesh Kumar Solanki were also present.