Kevadiya: Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Thakur has called for a unified approach by the Centre and the states to strengthen the sports eco-system and propel India to rank among the top 10 sporting nations in the world. The Minister was speaking at the inauguration of the two-day National Conference of Ministers of Youth Affairs & Sports of States and Union Territories at Kevadiya in Gujarat.
Thakur said “sports and players will progress if states and Centres create strategies and infrastructure and organize events and competitions together with the spirit of ‘Team India.’ Hence there is a need to imbibe national vision looking beyond the state boundaries”.
The Union Minister urged the state Sports Ministers and officials attending the National Conference to use the occasion as a knowledge-sharing platform and bring to the fore best practices of every state to build a unified approach to strengthen the sports ecosystem in the country. “There are several common issues that all states face when trying to develop sports and there are some common solutions that can be found through deliberations,” he added.
The Minister said deliberations at the Conference would also focus on expanding the scope of Khelo India Games by discussing the feasibility of holding Khelo India Tribal Games etc. There is also a proposal to extend the Khelo India League games to several other games along the lines of Archery League, Hockey League etc. When there are more events, players will get a chance to showcase their talent and also to progress further” he added.
Various other aspects of the Khelo India Scheme like Geo-Tagging of Playfields, Training Centres/Academies in the States, Talent Identification & Development through Sports Competitions, Promotion of Sports for women, persons with disability, Tribals & Rural Areas, Indigenous Games and Importance of Education and Awareness on Anti-Doping, Building the ecosystem for Sports Support Professionals among others are being deliberated during the Conference.
Gujarat Sports Minister Harsh Sanghvi in his opening remarks said “each of us present here has come to represent a particular state. We may have different issues and different strengths, but I am sure that when the conference is concluded, at the end of the two days, we will be ready to work as one team – Team India”.
Ministers of Youth Affairs and Sports from 15 states, Smt. Sujata Chaturvedi, Secretary Sports, Government of India and Sanjay Kumar, Secretary Youth Affairs, Government of India and senior officials of the Sports Department of 33 states and union territories are attending the Conference.
