PM Modi to inaugurate first-ever Khelo India University Games in Odisha today

Prime
Minister will declare open the first-ever Khelo India University Games in
Odisha today through video conferencing. The multi-disciplinary sporting event
will take off with a mega launch at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in
Cuttack.

The event will
be attended by several dignitaries and sportspersons, including Odisha Chief
Minister Naveen Patnaik and Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju. 

As many as
3,400 athletes from 159 universities across the country will vie for top
honours in 17 disciplines, including rugby which is among the six-team events.

With 191
athletes, the Panjab University in Chandigarh and 183 athletes, the Guru Nanak
Dev University in Amritsar will comprise some of the largest contingents. The
sports disciplines will include archery, athletics, boxing, fencing, judo,
swimming, weightlifting, wrestling, badminton, basketball, football, hockey,
table tennis, tennis, volleyball, rugby and kabaddi. 

Athletes are
looking at the Khelo India University Games with the aim to make a mark not
only for their institutions and themselves but also to catch the eye of talent
scouts. In the time to come, it would become an important rung in the ladder
that the country’s student-athletes seek to climb.

The attempt
is to make the Khelo India University Games an aspirational competition for
India’s youngsters with twin objectives of helping them find the balance
between sport and education.