On the lines of Gujarat Khel Mahakumbh, Haryana Government has also geared up to organise a month-long ‘Khel Mahakumbh’ in the State to promote sports at grassroot level.
Chief Minister Manohar lal will declare the ‘Khel Mahakumbh’ open at a ceremony in Karnal on September 24 and all the winners will be felicitated at a grand closing ceremony planned at Hisar on October 28.
Starting September 24, the month long ‘Khel Mahakumbh’ will unfold across the State and involve participation by a huge chunk of the State’s population in 24 competitive sports disciplines at the district and State level, said an official spokesman.
Junior and senior men and women will separately compete in all age groups - Under 14, Under 17, Open category, Above 40 and Above 60. Specially-abled athletes - para athletes, visually challenged athletes, deaf athletes - will have categories of their own.
After district level competitions, state level competitions will be organised in different districts within the State between October 5 and October 26.
The Khel Mahakumbh is modelled on the lines of the one very successfully being organised by Gujarat Government. It is based on the national level programme for development of sports - “Khelo India” introduced by the Government of India, the spokesman said.
He said the Haryana Government, through this scheme, aimed to further strengthen the sports ecosystem in the State. There was a lot of room for further improvement in areas like development of sports and supporting infrastructure, encouragement for grassroots participation in sports, and a well-defined process of talent search, he said.
To be jointly organised by Haryana Department of Sports and Youth Affairs and Swarna Jayanti Celebrations Authority, Haryana, the grassroots level sports festival will feature all sports disciplines which are either part of Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games or National Games, and are the focus sports disciplines of Haryana. Two highly popular indigenous games - circle kabaddi and tug-of-war - have also been included, the spokesman said.
In order to ensure smooth operations, all state level competitions in 2-3 identified sports disciplines will be conducted in a particular district. Prize money of upto Rs 5000 will be given to winners in various competitions, added he.