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Top athletes, coaches to be part of talent scouting: Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore
Former internationals and Dronacharya awardees have been nominated to a panel to spot talent in each of the 16 disciplines being organised in Khelo India School Games.
The sports ministry has constituted a ‘talent identification development committee’ (TIDC) to scout for potential sportspersons during the inaugural Khelo India edition, according to sports minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore.
Former internationals and Dronacharya awardees have been nominated to the panel to spot talent in each of the 16 disciplines being organised.in the Khelo India School Games. “The government is targeting 1000 athletes in the first edition… a decision on the training venues and coaches will taken soon. We prefer that athletes train close to their home ground. In case an athlete wants to train with a personal coach, the government will provide financial assistance,’’ said Rathore, adding that a panel to monitor training will also be set up.
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The selection athletes will get financial assistance of Rs.5 lakh each annually for eight years.
In the inaugural edition, competition in disciplines such as athletics, archery, badminton, boxing, weightlifting and wrestling is being organised. Team events such as hockey, football and basketball are also being organised. The minister said that the overall standards might not be very high in the first edition but he was hopeful of marked improvement in future competitions.
Asked whether the event was being held close to the board exams, the minister said, due to less time at hand, there was the option to either postpone the games or give opportunity to the budding athletes this year. “’There might be some drawback, but we need to learn and improve in the next edition. This time, we are organising competition in 16 disciplines, it will increase to 20 or more in the second edition,’’ he added.
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The government also plans to hold college games on the lines of the school games. ‘’We want to run university sports like it is run in America,’’ he said. The whole project is aimed at nurturing young talent to excel in the 2024 and 2028 Olympic Games.
On the issue of overage, secretary, sports, Rahul Bhatnagar said that after the initial selection process, all necessary documents will be thoroughly examined to weed out overage players. ‘’The names of athletes were forwarded by the School Games Federation of India and respective National Sports Federations,’’ he said.
