5 things that are unique to Khelo India Youth Games 2023
The sixth edition of the Khelo India Youth Games will commence on Friday, January 19, with over 5,600 budding athletes set to participate across 26 sporting disciplines to be held across 12 venues in four cities of Tamil Nadu.
The tournament, which was previously called as Khelo India School Games, will offer 278 gold, 278 silver, and 377 bronze medals. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will declare the edition open in an opening ceremony at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai.
Hosts Tamil Nadu will field the largest contingent of 569 members with the target to finish in the top three. Tamil Nadu will face a stiff challenge from Maharashtra and Haryana, who have won the competitions three and two times, respectively.
On that note, let's look at some of the new things that are in the store for the upcoming edition of the Khelo India Youth Games 2023.
#1 South India to host first Khelo India Youth Games
First envisaged as the Khelo India School Games back in 2018, the Games have grown in magnitude and the competition has been renamed as the Khelo India Youth Games.
The previous five editions were staged in Delhi, Pune (Maharashtra), Guwahati (Assam), Panchkula (Haryana), and Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh).
This means South India gets its first opportunity to host the event which helps to discover talent from the nook and cranny of the nation. Tamil Nadu will stage the Khelo India Youth Games 2023 across 12 venues in four cities - Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, and Trichy.
#2 Freedom fighter mascot for the first time
Rather than the conventional mascots of national animals, birds, or any cartoon character, Tamil Nadu has decided to design one for their valiant freedom fighter Rani Velu Nachiyar fondly known as ‘Veera Mangai.
The move comes to represent the rich history and traditional values of the state to educate the younger generation about an iconic figure.
Rani Velu Nachiyar was the first Indian queen involved in a war against the East India Company, for which her contributions have been projected in school books to encourage children to learn the contribution of Veera Mangai in the freedom struggle.
#3 Squash to make its debut in Khelo India Youth Games 2023
Squash is one of the five additional sports to find an entry in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, which ends the long-awaiting moment for all the aficionados of the racquet sport. The decision has also inspired the Khelo India Games committee to include the sport for the very first time.
Chennai is undisputedly the hub of Indian squash with the establishment of the Indian Squash Academy in Chennai by the Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI) in 1990. The academy has hosted seven national squash championships, an annual event, including the latest one in November 2023. Chennai also hosted the Team Squash World Cup 2023 in June last year.
Tamil Nadu has manufactured several talented squash players over the years. Nineteen-time national champion Joshna Chinappa is an eminent player from the state and also represented India, winning in major international events such as the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games.
#4 Silambam makes debut as a demo sport in Khelo India Youth Games
Tamil Nadu’s pride and one of the oldest weapon-based forms of martial arts, Silambam, has been practiced in the southern Indian state since the fourth century BC. It has detailed references in the Tamil Sangam literature.
Named after its primary weapon, the bamboo staff, the martial art form has been recognized by the Union Sports Ministry under the ‘Promotion of inclusiveness through sports’ initiative.
All 12 Khelo India venues will display Silambam and close to 1,000 players will showcase their mastery over this unique form of martial art as a part of the demo sport.
#5 Tamil Nadu to host all sports disciplines within the state
In the last two editions of the Khelo India Youth Games, a few sports disciplines were held outside the host state due to a lack of infrastructure. Shooting and cycling were hosted by Delhi when Haryana was the host in the 2021 edition (held in 2022). Similarly, the national capital also staged cycling events when Bhopal hosted the last edition.
However, Tamil Nadu will be the first state in the last three editions to host all the sports disciplines within the allocated 12 venues. Cycling events will take place at the Tamil Nadu Physical Education and Sports University (TNPESU) in Melakottaiyur.
Meanwhile, shooting competitions will be held in Velachery and Alamadi, where the budding shooters from the country will target the bull’s-eye.