Young, hungry athletes take centrestage in successful Khelo India Youth Games edition in Tamil Nadu

As a concept, the Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG) is far-reaching and impactful as it gives a certain shape and vigour to grassroot sports.

The sixth edition of KIYG, which witnessed over 5000 sportspersons from 26 disciplines taking part in competitions spread across four cities — Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai and Tiruchirappalli, was a gamechanger in many ways.

It was a huge organisational success with the Tamil Nadu Government and Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) deservedly claiming all the accolades. Added to it, the host’s athletes did well in the sporting arena, finishing third, its best-ever in the Games.

Mercy Regina, General Manager of SDAT, insisted that without the Government’s support the Games wouldn’t have been such a huge success. “For almost all the sports and games, we bought new equipment of international and national standard. Several stadiums were also renovated.”

She said KIYG has created a lot of awareness about sports and games, which will go a long way in encouraging the next generation of sportspersons to win medals at the Olympics and other major international events.

Regina admitted that the maintenance of stadiums across the state remains a challenge but said that the Government has allocated an amount for its upkeep. “That will not be a problem anymore,” she said.

According to her, the selection Committee of KIYG, in consultation with SDAT, has chosen three sports — fencing, boxing and athletics — and has created the State Centre of Excellence inside the Nehru Stadium premises in Chennai. “Our new building will soon be ready. We are in the process of selecting players,” she said.

Cash incentives, which are essential for sportspersons to grow, have been given by SDAT and Khelo India for the winners and deserving sportspersons. Apart from its numerous schemes, SDAT gives ₹2 lakh, ₹1.50 lakh and ₹1 lakh to the gold, silver and bronze medal winners of KIYG, respectively.

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KIYG also awards ₹10,000 per month for three years for sportspersons selected by the KIYG selection committee.

Boxer V. Devarajan, former World Cup medallist and Olympian, said that the boxing venue for KIYG at the Tamil Nadu Physical & Sports University (TNPESU) was world class. “I felt I was walking into an international venue,” he told  Sportstar.

The 50-year-old said that since TNPESU was situated outside Chennai (Kancheepuram district) players and officials had to travel quite a distance to reach the venue, which was indeed a bit taxing for them. “They had to travel 30 kms from their rooms to the venue. Food was a problem initially and there were quite a few other issues too, but slowly the organisers worked on the shortcomings to conduct a wonderful event,” he said.

Devarajan said that the Boxing Federation of India and Sports Authority of India should hold talent hunts in TN, Andhra and other South Indian cities like the one they organised in Bengaluru. At various venues of the Games, there wasn’t any big response from the public. But for the volleyball final at the Nehru Indoor Stadium, when eventual champion TN clashed with Haryana, a sizeable crowd really enjoyed the match.

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S. Dakshinamoorthy, the volleyball coach of SRM University and a veteran talent spotter, said that SAI is doing an excellent job in spotting talent and rewarding them. Even though SAI does routine assessments on the players after picking them, Dakshinamoorthy said an exposure trip for the selected players will do a world of good to their morale.

“KIYG is a turning point for many sportspersons. Khelo India Centers have come up in many cities and disciplines. For betterment, I suggest SAI hold a 3-week or a 6-week camp and send the players for exposure tours to foreign countries. It will definitely yield results,” he said.

K. K. Mukundan, former National swimming coach, said it is hard to find any loopholes as far as the swimming organisation was concerned at KIYG. “I can’t find any. It was near-perfect. I wish they maintain the facilities and continue to do a good job,” he said.

A renovated velodrome for cycling at TNPESU was a welcome addition to the Games and proved that the sport has a future in the State. Maninderpal Singh, Secretary of the Cycling Federation of India, said that KIYG is a good initiative as it sees participants come from remote parts of India. “The Velodrome in Chennai is a big boost to cyclists from TN. Moreover, cyclists from TN did well in certain sections, especially in the girls’ category. We have 14 velodromes in India including the one in TNPESU. It will go a long way in promoting cycling,” he said.

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Former India hockey captain, Md. Riaz, also said, “KIYG is a great platform for youngsters to showcase their skills. It gives them the feeling of being in the Olympics or Asian Games.” Riaz suggested the weaker teams in hockey be supported by the Central Government in terms of funding and help the respective States in whatever way it can. “That way, we can improve the quality of the teams and the quality of competition,” said the Olympian.

Maintenance and upkeep of stadiums, fair selection and constant monitoring of those selected in SAI/SDAT programmes are important considerations going forward.

The fact remains that KIYG remains a benchmark in terms of organisational excellence on many parameters.

As Anurag Thakur, Union Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports, rightly said at the closing ceremony of the Games, “Well done, TN”.