Khelo India offers a much-needed platform for young talent: Anju Bobby George

NEW DELHI: Anju Bobby George, the first Indian athlete to make a podium finish in World Championships in athletics when she won the bronze medal in the 2003 showpiece, is upbeat that the Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG) can eventually bridge the much-needed gap between grassroots programme and serious competition in the sport.

The upcoming edition of the Khelo India Youth Games will be held in 27 disciplines across eight cities in Madhya Pradesh, with the opening ceremony scheduled on January 30.

The track & field events of KIYG 2022, a three-day affair, will be held at T.T. Nagar Stadium in Bhopal from February 3-5 and are expected to see some closely-contested events. The other cities which will play hosts in the central India state are Indore, Ujjain, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Mandla, Khargone (Maheshwar) and Balaghat.

Anju, a member of the Union government's Mission Olympic cell responsible for selecting athletes for the TOPS (Target Olympic Podium Scheme), feels that the Khelo India scheme forms the foundation of a pyramid structure in terms of grooming talent.

"It's a unique project with the right intent from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Sports ministry, and it has already started producing the results. It's however a continuous process and we have to build on it," the 45-year-old long jump ace said in a media release.

"The Games are offering young children up to 18 years a kind of exposure in front of talent-hunters which previously did not exist. The athletes who make the cut are provided with government funding for training and also get an out-of-pocket allowance, which gives them a big sense of pride," she added.

As per the organisers, each discipline in KIYG is monitored by a group of spotters, who are entrusted with the job of adopting promising participants as Khelo India athletes based on their performance in the KIYG, National Championships and open selection trials.

The latest figures released by the Union Sports Ministry last December say that 2841 athletes have been selected from 21 sports disciplines so far. IANS

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