Amit Shah, the Union Minister of Home Affairs, will be the prominent guest at the Khelo India Youth Games 2021 opening on Saturday in Panchkula, Haryana.
This is the fourth edition of the Khelo India Youth Games, India’s largest grassroots sports tournament, which the Central Government launched in 2018.
The inauguration ceremony will be attended by Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Singh Thakur, Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Nisith Pramanik.
Other officials from Haryana, such as State Sports Minister Sandeep Singh, will also attend the occasion.
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Four thousand seven hundred competitors, including 2,262 females, will compete in 25 sports for 269 gold, 269 silver, and 358 bronze medals at the games, which begin on June 4 and go through June 13.
37 Indian states and union territories will participate in KIYG 2021. This will occur in five cities (Panchkula, Shahbad, Ambala, Chandigarh, and Delhi).
There will be 25 sports, including five traditional Indian games: Kalaripayattu, Thang-Ta, Gatka, Mallakhamba, and Yogasana.
Unlike past editions, which included two age groups, this year’s Khelo India Youth Games will have just Under-18 athletes fighting for medals.
Haryana, the hosts, will participate in every event with a delegation of 396 athletes, the biggest at KIYG 2021.
The two-time KIYG winners, Maharashtra, will compete in 23 of the 25 events in Haryana with a squad of 318 athletes.
Haryana, which has produced several Olympic, Paralympic, and Asian Games medalists, won the first Khelo India School Games in 2018 to claim the title of top sports state in the country.
The next year, Maharashtra jumped to the top of the table in the renamed Youth Games, taking advantage of their home. They won 85 gold medals, compared to 62 for Haryana, to become the new champions in Pune. Maharashtra maintained its dominance in the following event in Guwahati, winning 78 gold medals in total.
During the Games, the COVID-19 standards will be strictly enforced, and the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) will make the necessary preparations for dope testing and other requirements for the athletes.
