Govt decides 1000 Khelo India Centres at district level across India

The government has decided to establish 1000 Khelo India Centres at the district level across the country. These centres will either be run by a past champion or have them as coaches. The move is to tap into the expertise of past sporting champions for grassroots-level training of athletes and also to ensure a sustained source of income for them in the sports ecosystem.

To make sporting careers a more lucrative prospect in India, the sports ministry has taken the decision to establish 1,000 Khelo India Centres  at the district level across the country. Union Sports Minister  Kiren Rijiju said, as the government strives to make India a sporting superpower, one of the things we have to ensure is that sports become a viable career option for youngsters. He said the Centre wants to ensure that anyone who has played sport at the national level has a life of dignity and financial stability. A shortlisting mechanism has been put in place to identify past champions who are eligible to either establish their own academy or work as a coach in a KIC.

 Former sports champions, across various categories, will either run these centres or contribute as coaches with an aim to use their expertise in their respective fields.

At these centres, as many as 14 disciplines will be in focus under the Identified Sports for Excellence in Olympics , including archery, athletics, boxing, badminton, football, hockey, shooting, table tennis, weightlifting and wrestling among others.