'Khelo Bharat' finals on July 24 and 25

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha will be organising the finals of ‘Khelo Bharat’, an initiative to encourage traditional Indian sports such as kabaddi and kho-kho, in the capital’s Talkatora Stadium on July 24 and 25.

The initiative has seen thousands of young sportsmen and women participating in traditional Indian sports.

Talking about the initiative, BJYM president Poonam Mahajan said in a release, “The Youth represents the most dynamic and vibrant segment of the population. This is an initiative that has been taken by us to encourage the traditional sports amongst thousands of young sportsmen and women in India.

“We started this program last year and the enthusiasm that you see in today’s youth is contagious. In the years to come, we hope more and more Indian youth will participate to showcase their skills.” 

After a grand opening in Lucknow on July 6 last year, the finals will see players from 27 states showcasing their skill.

Currently, Khelo Bharat is promoting five traditional games — kabaddi, kushti, kho-kho, tug of war, and malkambh.

The games were played in 27 states, covering 733 districts, and 11,165 mandals.

There were 8,834 participating teams in total out of which 40 qualified for the semi-finals and 20 teams qualified for the finals.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP national president Amit Shah, sports minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, the Phogat sisters, Vijender Singh, Mary Kom, Sushil Kumar are expected to grace the events.