While only 86 women were part of the TOPS programme in 2018, today we have 190 girls

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s simple mantra for the youth, “khelega India toh khilega India”, has been the driving force behind the transformation of the perception of sports in the last few years. Sports, once perceived as just an extracurricular activity in India, is now taking centre stage. Strong schemes adopted by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, like ‘Khelo India’, ‘Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS)’ or ‘Fit India Movement’, have played a significant role in motivating youngsters to pursue a career in sports and the number of sportsmen/women is on a steady rise. Specifically for girl athletes, empathy and inclusiveness have been key drivers for game-changing reforms. This is in line with the Government’s myriad initiatives to encourage the girl child’s emancipation. Over the years, sterling performances by women athletes have ensured them a place in the Indian sporting world’s hall of fame and turned them into legends. Most importantly, they showed the global sporting community that “Bharat ki Mahila” is up for the challenge and can take on the world. These spirited performances, coupled with reforms led by the Ministry of Youth Affairs And Sports in recent years, have promoted inclusivity, created an ecosystem of awareness towards women in sports and inspired a generation of young girls to actively take part in sports. I can proudly say that 43 per cent of the Indian athletes who have qualified for the forthcoming Tokyo Olympics are women.

The crucial point in ensuring that India achieves sporting excellence is to increase participation at the grassroots. A wide participation base will ensure there are a good number of children who continue to play sports professionally. It is important to note that girls form 50 per cent of this participation base, and at no cost can they be left behind. The ‘Khelo India Scheme’, with the objective of infusing a sporting culture and achieving sporting excellence in the country has played a vital role in the last three years. An exclusive component of the ‘Khelo India Scheme’ focuses on barriers faced by girls/women in participating in sporting activities and creating mechanisms to overcome these and increase participation. We have had a 161 per cent increase in women’s participation at the Khelo India Games from 2018 to 2020. From 657 identified female athletes being supported under the ‘Khelo India Scheme’ in 2018, the number has now gone up to 1,471. TOPS focuses on high-performance sports where we provide international training exposure, world-class physical and mental conditioning, scientific research, day-to-day monitoring and counseling and ample financial assistance to athletes who could potentially win Olympic gold medals. While only 86 women athletes were part of the TOPS programme in September 2018, it is heartening to note that today we have 190 of them.

Promotion of girls/women in sports needs to deal heavily with changing social mindsets. Allowing girls to participate in physical activity in a safe environment, with good quality coaching and infrastructure, has to be a combined effort from both the Government and society. Many women champions have taken proactive steps to establish sports academies with a focus on excellence and a number of such initiatives have been supported and fostered by the Sports Ministry under the National Sports Development Fund. The Usha School of Athletics, Mary Kom Boxing Foundation, Ashwini Sports Foundation, Sarita Boxing Academy, Karnam Malleshwari Foundation and Anju Bobby George Sports Foundation, are all examples of such initiatives.Let us all pledge to collectively work towards ensuring that girls play a lot more sports, so that we as a country march ever nearer to the great Olympic ideal of ‘Citius, Altius, Fortius’ meaning ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger.’

(The writer is Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Youth Affairs And Sports. The views expressed are personal.)