Ahead of Paris Olympics 2024, India to identify one lakh athletes under KIRTI
Ahead of the Paris Olympics 2024, India is set to identify one lakh budding young athletes under the government’s Khelo India Rising Talent Identification (KIRTI) program, Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Friday.
The assessment project, where athletes will be given opportunities to develop their sporting capabilities irrespective of their origins or financial strengths, will help make India one of the top five nations in the Olympics by 2047, the Sports Ministry said in a statement.
Project KIRTI, which is a talent identification model developed to encourage ‘mass participation and excellence in sports’, will complete the assessment of over one lakh young athletes within 100 days at 100 locations across the country.
Of the 117 members of the contingent representing India at the Paris Olympics 2024, 28 have come from the KIRTI ecosystem.
Sports minister flags off second KIRTI phase as Paris Olympics 2024 looms
With just a week to go before the start of the Paris Olympics 2024, Minister Mandaviya on Friday launched the second phase of the KIRTI programme at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi.
“India is full of diversity and potential. There has never been a shortage of brainpower, manpower, or talent in India. Not just the cities, but even in our far-flung areas like the North-East, Coastal, Himalayan and tribal areas can have a quality sportsperson there. KIRTI is aimed at spotting these talented athletes and developing their skills,” the Minister told the attendants.
The event was attended by MP Manoj Tiwari and Kamaljeet Sehrawat, and other SAI officials, as well as children from Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) school.
“Among you, there will certainly be an Olympic champion. I appreciate the fact that your parents have come and are backing you to play sports,” Minister Mandaviya told the schoolchildren. “Maybe one day when you will win an Olympic medal, you or your parents will remember this day at the JLN Stadium.”