1000 Khelo India centres to be opened across country by August 15, says Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur

Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Anurag Thakur on Friday said one thousand Khelo India centres will be opened by the 15th of August next year across the country. He added that out of these one thousand centres, 733 centres have been already sanctioned. The Minister was replying to a discussion in Lok Sabha on the need to promote sports in the country and steps were taken by the Government in this regard.

Mr Thakur stated that be it Tokyo Olympics or Tokyo Paralympics, India has performed better as compared to the past. He said India has also performed well in Deaf Olympics as well. Speaking about Khelo India, the Minister said, the Government has worked to change the mindset of people towards sports. He said Khelo India games have given a platform to grassroots level players to show their talent in front of the entire nation.

Mr Thakur said, the focus is being given to improving sports infrastructure. He assured that the Government has shown no discrimination towards para-athletes. Participating in the discussion, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury of Congress said, India has been lagging behind in sports compared to other countries. He said, there is a need for introspection across parties on how to address the areas in which the country is lagging behind. He suggested that budgetary allocation for the Youth Affairs and Sports Ministry should be increased.

Ritesh Pandey of BSP pointed out that India only fares well in cricket but is falling back in sports like hockey and football. He said, some of the reasons for this are underutilisation of funds, and shortage of coaches.