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Former India badminton player Jwala Gutta on Friday welcomed the revamped Khelo India scheme, saying the significant increase in its budget will help provide greater opportunities to young athletes and strengthen India's sports ecosystem.
The Sports Authority of India (SAI), under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, organised a press interaction on the revamped Khelo India scheme in Hyderabad, highlighting its focus on grassroots talent identification, inclusivity and athlete development. "Very, very happy to be part of this press conference for the new Khelo India scheme. Very important, very important for the sports development of our country. And I'm very happy that the budget has gone eightfold up and I really hope that this scheme can go and bring out and give opportunities to children who are unaware of this scheme," Jwala told ANI. She also urged the media to spread awareness about the scheme and encourage more youngsters to participate. "So I want to also tell the media people to spread the word and get as many students as possible for this scheme," she added. SAI Deputy Director Hima Bindu said the revamped scheme would play an important role in strengthening the sports ecosystem and complementing the efforts of state governments, national sports federations and other stakeholders. "Today it has been a very momentous occasion to share the features of the revamped Khelo India scheme with the media friends from Telangana. And Hyderabad being a hub for many eminent coaches and eminent athletes, I think the message should be taken forward," Hima Bindu told ANI. She highlighted the substantial increase in the scheme's budget, describing it as a major boost for sports development. "The revamped Khelo India scheme is almost eight times the budget, which is a humongous budget for the sports ecosystem. And it will supplement the efforts of the state governments, national sports federations, and all the stakeholders involved in the development of sports in the country," she said. Hima Bindu said the scheme will focus on bringing together various efforts aimed at developing sports in the country, with particular emphasis on identifying and nurturing talent. "It will aim to converge and collaborate all these efforts, and it is focusing on strengthening talent identification and development, infrastructure, and nurturing coaches, both in terms of quality and quantity," she added. She further said the revamped scheme would strengthen training facilities through a pan-India network, with sports science and technology playing a key role in athlete development. "Then the training facilities, a pan-India network of training facilities, strengthening them. Sports science will be a major feature of the training facilities, and all these backed by sports technology, which should take India's medal tally up and the journey of many athletes competing with medals and the Indian flag flying high," Hima concluded. (ANI)
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