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Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will launch the first Khelo India School Games at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi on January 31, 2018.

The Khelo India programme has been introduced to revive the sports culture in India at the grass-root level by building a strong framework for all sports played in our country and establishing India as a great sporting nation. In keeping with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision,Khelo India is expected to help scout young talent from the schools in various disciplines and groom them as future sports champions.

Talented players identified in priority sports disciplines at various levels by a High-Powered Committee will be provided annual financial assistance of Rs. 5 lakh per annum for 8 years.

The Khelo India School Games are being held from 31st January to 8th February, 2018 in New Delhi. Under-17 athletes have been invited to participate across 16 disciplines: Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Boxing, Football, Gymnastics, Hockey, Judo, Kabaddi, Kho-Kho, Shooting, Swimming, Volleyball, Weightlifting, and Wrestling. The games will highlight India’s young sporting talent and showcase India's sports potential.

199 gold medals, 199 silver medals and 275 bronze medals are at stake in the Khelo India School Games. The country’s brightest talent in the under-17 age group will compete in the Games.

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Karnataka’s Srihari Nataraj, named the best swimmer at the National Aquatics Championships 2017 in Bhopal, will be among the cream of country’s young swimming talent which will be on view in the first Khelo India School Games at the iconic Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Swimming Pool Complex here from February 1 to 4.

Srihari, who stands close to six-feet tall, has constantly broken barriers and seeks to go faster than anyone else, aiming to represent India in the Asian Games in Jakarta this year and the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. In fact, the Jain College student from Bengaluru is the owner of all National records for backstroke over 50m (26.58 seconds), 100m (56.99) and 200m (2:04.11).

“I know that the best talent will get picked for handsome scholarships worth Rs 5 lakh each year for eight years but I am entering five events, including the 100m and 200m freestyle, for the race experience,” Srihari, who will turn 17 on January 16, said. “I want to show that I am the best each time I take to the pool.”

Karnataka’s Saloni Dalal, who lowered her own 200m breaststroke National Record to 2:43.01, is the other prominent swimmer who will compete in the Khelo India School Games.

The Dubai-based Tanish George Mathew (Indian High School), who won three gold in the SGFI National Championships 2017, will look forward to racing Srihari Nataraj in the 50m backstroke event and National junior silver medallist Neel Roy (Maharashtra) in the 50m butterfly event. His 200m butterfly battle with Padam Padam Birthare (Maharashtra) will also be eagerly watched.

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Maharashtra’s Rayna Saldanha, who was adjudged the best under-17 girl swimmer in the National Junior Aquatics Championships 2017, and West Bengal’s Swadesh Mondal and Maharashtra’s Kenisha Gupta, the best under-14 swimmers in National Junior Aquatics Championships 2017 in Pune, will also be seen in action in the four-day swimming competitions in the pool.

Similarly, the girls 100m butterfly contest between Aastha Choudhary (Assam) and Tamil Nadu’s Priyanga Pughazarasu will be a good race. Maharashtra boys Vedant Bapna and Advait Page as well as girls like Mayuri Lingaraj (Karnataka), Firdoush Kayamkhani (Delhi), Rayna Saldanha and Anubhuti Baruah are also expected to be among the leading swimmers in the Games.

Image courtesy – Pixabay, used for representational purpose only

Ministry of Youth Affairs and sports has launched Sports Talent Search Portal to spot the best talent from among the young population of the country. The portal was launched by the Vice President of India Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu at a function at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi. Minister of State (I/C) for Youth Affairs and Sports Shri Vijay Goel, Secretary Sports Shri Injeti Srinivas, Khel Ratna and Arjuna awardees sports persons and thousands of school children were present on the occasion to witness the path breaking initiative in the field of sports.  School children presented a series of cultural performances on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion Shri Venkaiah Naidu said that this kind of initiative will not only help in identifying the best talent, but will also provide a level playing field to all the applicants and create a competitive environment.

 He said sport is an integral part of nation-building process, as it plays an important role in terms of individual development, community development, social inclusiveness and economic development. One of the most important factors that enable a nation to become a sporting power is the identification and development of right talent. As one-seventh of humanity, there is no dearth of talent in our country, especially with more than 450 million youth. Shri Naidu said, in fact, we are overflowing with talent, but in order to harness it we have to put in place a robust system to spot and nurture talent, and develop world champions.

 He said, the platform of National Sports Talent Search Portal will be a game changer and enable the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and Sports Authority of India select the best.  congratulating Shri Vijay Goel for the major initiative, the Vice President said, it will go a long way in attracting the best available sporting talent in the country. He said, this platform will be fast, transparent and provide a mechanism for fair selection.

Shri Vijay Goel in his speech said the government is committed for the overall development of sports and sportspersons. He said under the guidance of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi policies are being framed to provide sportspersons friendly atmosphere in the country. Referring to PM’s address through ‘Mann Ki Baat’ on 27 August, 2017, shri Goel said, our beloved Prime Minister himself took personal interest in the portal so that budding and hidden talent should take advantage and come forward to hone their skills further to bring laurels to the country in future.

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He said, Indian players are continuously in the lime light in different sports in the world sports arena and referred to the recently concluded World Badminton Championship at Glasgow where Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu won bronze and silver medals respectively by their hard work, talent and discipline. Shri Goel said, players are doing their best; and now it is the duty and responsibility of the Sports federations to perform in a manner so that best results can be produced by the talented boys and girls in their respective disciplines.  

Any person interested in registration on the portal can visit www.nationalsportstalenthunt.com or  www.nationalsportstalenthunt.in by following the registration procedure to upload their achievements and videos etc.

Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Shri Vijay Goel provided a unique opportunity to slum children from across Delhi today to witness the FIFA U-17 World Cup trophy displayed at his residence. The children were also gifted footballs during the event.

Shri Goel said that the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, has always encouraged sports and sportspersons with the motto of “KhelogeToKhiloge”. It has inspired to initiate Mission 11 Million programme, which aims to take football to 11 million kids across the country through 15, 000 schools. So far, 8 million kids have been reached via 12, 000 schools across the country with competitions and mini-football fests.

The Sports Minister also said that various Chief Ministers will be urged to take up mass football distribution in their respective states to popularize football. Shri Goel also added that school students in Delhi will get to watch India’s Delhi matches for free and will discuss the same with authorities from the other venues/cities too. “India has been doing well in recent times and we will continue to support our players in every possible way”, the Minister pointed out.

Shri Goel has visited all the venues to check the preparedness for the upcoming World Cup, which is the first FIFA tournament to be hosted by India. Shri Goel also said that India will be keen and willing to host other FIFA events in future too. The FIFA U17 World Cup will be played between October 6 and October 28, 2017.The final will be held at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on October 28, 2017.

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Imparting physical education in schools is a value that the ancient Greeks and Romans upheld. Education in a ‘gymnasium’ was considered absolutely essential for participation in Greek culture and it goes all the way back to 386 B.C. at the great philosopher Plato’s school Akademia or ‘the Academy’. In fact, he is quoted as once saying, “In order for man to succeed in life, God provided him with two means, education and physical activity. Not separately, one for the soul and the other for the body, but for the two together. With these two means, man can attain perfection.”

It is quite a disappointing fact that in India, we do not attach enough importance to physical education in our schools. While we give more than the required stress on following books and curriculum, physical education is often neglected and considered a waste of precious ‘study time’. However, to enable holistic growth and development of a child, physical education is a must and it is high time we realised the importance of it and embraced it as part of our school culture. And, as we all know, it is the values that we learn in school that stay with us for life.

This is slightly easier to implement in residential schools. “We dedicate three hours every day to sports; one hour in the morning and two in the evening. I can proudly say that our children are the all-India winners in athletics for the past seven years. We try to identify raw talent and encourage them to do well by giving them scholarships,” says Dr Jagpreet Singh, Headmaster of residential school The Punjab Public School, Nabha. “To cite an example, an 11-year-old girl from our school took part in the Patiala marathon and she won, even beating her seniors!” he proudly says.

Imparting physical education in schools has a number of benefits that cannot be ignored. Firstly, it enables proper physical growth of the child. In this day and age when obesity among children is a looming problem, stress on physical education and the following of a proper diet can go a long way. Obesity is the start of more health issues like diabetes, heart diseases and hormonal imbalances in children. An hour of physical activity every day can help keep such problems at bay. Physical activity also provides stress relief to children. It is a good way to release some steam and get a good night’s sleep to wake up fresh the next day.

Another important aspect is that physical education in schools can help identify future sportspersons. It is indeed a shame that in a country of 1.3 billion people, we hardly get any medals at Olympic events. This is certainly not because of lack of talent but because we have so much talent that goes unrecognised. Some children show deep signs of interest in sports at a very young age and they need to be properly guided and mentored at the school level to reach greater heights. A few hours of sporting activity a week in schools can help recognise talent, which can be encouraged.

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Excellence in a sport additionally builds confidence in children. It also helps children develop good coordination skills at a very young age. Sports inculcates qualities like leadership, discipline, sharing, teamwork, honesty, team spirit, tolerance and more among its participants, which are skills they need for life. There needs to be a balance between academics and physical education in schools so that the latter is not completely ignored.

Parents too need to stop pushing their child further in the rat race and realise that it is not just the class toppers who do well in life. A child’s complete development needs to be focussed on and not just his/her grades.

As the world celebrates International Yoga Day on June 21^st, the least we can do in our country is to incorporate yoga as a mandatory part of our curriculum. Yoga has mentions in the Rig Veda and dates back to pre-Vedic Indian traditions. On December 1, 2016, yoga was listed as UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage. It is heartening to note that some schools are indeed embracing yoga as part of their curriculum. In 2015, HRD Minister Smriti Irani released course material and syllabus for yoga designed by NCERT for classes VI-X in an attempt to make it an integral part of the physical education programme in central government-run schools. Yoga is taught as an optional subject in government-run schools like the Kendriya Vidyalayas and Navodaya Vidyalayas under the activity of physical education. The National Council of Teacher Education has made yoga a compulsory training module to train teachers for the same.

“We dedicate three hours to yoga every week and I have noticed a positive change in students who need extra help. Their retention and concentration levels have improved,” vouches Dr Jagpreet.

Prerna Ramanathan, a children’s yoga expert says, “For children, it is important to make yoga a fun activity so that they stay interested in it and then we can build on the interest. After birth and during the infant stage, muscles and tendons of a child are flexible. Regular yoga helps them maintain their flexibility and strength even when they grow older. Maintaining a particular yoga pose helps build body strength. Yoga is not only about maintaining physical strength; breathing exercises (like pranayama practices) help restless and fidgety children to focus and keep calm. Yoga is also a habit that can bring in the value of discipline like starting your day earlier and sleeping early.”

She also advocates yoga for adolescents and teens. “For adolescents, who are learning and sometimes struggling to accept their developing bodies, yoga helps build body confidence. Yoga is a non-competitive form of exercise unlike other sporting activities. Here, you are only looking at yourself and how you develop and therefore you are focussed on improving yourself,” she maintains.

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Sometimes parents require to be convinced when it comes to teaching yoga to their children although schools are indeed now a lot more open to yoga than before. “International schools like Inventure Academy, Indus International, and Oakridge International School in Bangalore have yoga as a subject. Some other schools have yoga as a camp activity but definitely schools are taking a positive step to include yoga in their curriculum. Some parents object to yoga thinking that it is religious and only related to Hinduism, but I completely disagree with that. Some also think that their children benefit only from sports as they are ignorant of the benefits of yoga. Such parents need convincing,” says Prerna.

Taking a leaf out of our book, the western world started taking up yoga since the 1980s and today we have so many of them even coming to India to learn the techniques of yoga. They are even dedicated to sharing it with others through YouTube videos, which have millions of views, clearly indicating that people do want to learn the skill and make their lives better. Yoga brings in discipline and is a method of controlling the body and the mind.

Apart from body awareness, yoga allows for children to maintain their body flexibility and posture, which will serve them well in the long run. According to a 2012 study published in The Journal of Behavioural Health Services & Research, students who performed yoga on a regular basis showed positive mood and attitude changes, increased energy and improved ability to relax, as well as improved posture as compared to those who did not.

While our country is the birthplace of unique and effective techniques like yoga, which is being adopted all over the world, we often need to get help from professionals outside school to get our children trained in them. It is important that our schools strike a balance between academics and physical education. Including sports in our culture is necessary to nurture their social, emotional and physical well-being.

This article was originally published in the July 2017 issue of ScooNews magazine. Subscribe to ScooNews Magazine today to have more such stories delivered to your desk every month. 

Team ScooNews would like to thank Ms Prerna Ramanathan and Dr Jagpreet Singh for their valuable inputs.

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‘All Facilities for FIFA Under-17 World Cup 2017 Should be Ready by May 15’: Sports Minister Vijay Goel to Visit Kolkata on May 5 

FIFA Under-17 World Cup 2017 will be played in six cities, Delhi, Navi Mumbai, Kolkata, Goa, Kochi and Guwahati, from October 6-28, 2017. There were reports that at some venues the preparations were not upto the mark. Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Youth Affairs & Sports Shri Vijay Goel, recently undertook a visit to Kochi, Kerala. The Minister expressed his disappointment at the pace at which the preparations were going on. Therefore, he had a meeting with all the concerned officers and directed that no more extension of time for completion of works may be sought and all facilities should be ready by May 15, 2017. 

Shri Goel also held a meeting with the Chief Minister, Kerala and Minister of Sports, Government of Kerala. Shri Goel urged upon them to review the work at their level, to ensure timely completion of pending work. The Minister was assured that the timeline fixed by him, i.e. May 15, 2017, will be respected and no work will be left incomplete for completion beyond this date. 

The Minister will undertake a similar visit to Kolkata on May 5. During the visit, the Minister is likely to visit the competition, as well as practice venues of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup. He will also hold meetings with senior football players, Chief Minister of West Bengal, Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of West Bengal, with a view to seek their cooperation in popularizing football and make FIFA Under-17 World Cup, a success. 

Image courtesy – FIFA

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Safety on Wheels – A skating competition with the aid of traffic police,  jaipur is held on 22nd – 23rd april 2017 at Chitrakoot Stadium, Jaipur. 

Mr Haider Ali Zaidi DCP, Traffic Police, Jaipur will be the chief guest for the event. Students from major schools of jaipur are participating in this event. 

The age group set for the competition is 4-16 years. 

The event will witness a fusion of sports and education.  The main ideology behind the event is to promote skating at a very young level and also to promote road safety. Traffic police education team will be present there. Various activities including a quiz competition will be held. All the winners and participants will be getting prizes, certificates and mementos. 

The event is organised by Fly On Wheels skating academy which is training youngsters to skate since 1999. 

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The Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports (I/C), Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Shri Vijay Goel addressing at the launch of the India-Australia Sports Partnership, in Mumbai on April 12, 2017. The Australian Prime Minister, Mr. Malcolm Turnbull and the cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar are also seen.

India and Australia today launched Sports partnership in Mumbai aimed at increasing  cooperation in sports.  The Partnership, which was launched by the Union Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports Mr. Vijay Goel and the visiting Australian Prime Minister Mr. Malcolm Turnbull, in the presence of cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar, will advance India – Australia cooperation in four areas – athlete and coach training and development, sport science, sport governance and integrity, and grassroots participation.”

Speaking on the occasion, Sports Minister Vijay Goel said “we have a lot to learn and share with Australia in the field of sports. The India-Australia Sports Partnership would facilitate exchange of athletes, coaches, technical officials, sports scientists between two countries.” 

He said India has started taking sports as a very important component of public health management as well as education. “We have launched a major grassroots programme – Khelo India for developing a sporting culture at grass-roots level.  We are planning to introduce sports as a compulsory subject in schools” he said. 

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The Minister said that the National Sports Talent Identification and Development Portal would be launched shortly.   

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said under the new partnership Victoria University and the University of Canberra would work with India to assist in the establishment of a National Sports University similar to the Australian Institute of Sport.

Mr. Turnbull and Mr. Goel also met with some young girls from Mumbai’s slums who are being taught to play sports byApnalaya, an organization with which Sachin Tendulkar’s mother-in-law Ms. Annabel Mehta is associated with. The Australian PM  praised the work saying that sport builds up social capital.

Wrapping up his four day visit, Mr. Turnbull said India, which is evolving as an economic superpower,  is now enormously important in the region. He said “my trip has been all about deepening more engaged collaboration between Australia and India in the fields of economics, sports, health, science and education.” 

Source: Press Information Bureau, Govt. of India

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Days after eight-year-old Tajamul Islam scripted history by becoming the first player ever from the sub-junior category to win a gold medal at the World Kickboxing Championship, another Kashmiri boy has made the country proud.

Hashim Mansoor, a six-year old boy from Jammu and Kashmir’s Bandipora district, has emerged as yet another young star from the region after winning a gold medal in the Asian Karate Championship held recently at Talkatora stadium in New Delhi.

Read the complete news here

Image courtesy – Rediff.com

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