"Khelo India has become a big success," says Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur

During his visit at the SAI facility, Thakur also interacted with the trainees, coaches and other support staff.

While speaking to the press, the Union Sports Minister said that India has good talent but they don't get competitions to play.

He added that the Federation and the State governments also have to play a crucial role to give them enough opportunities.

While talking about Khelo India, he added that it was the idea of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring such an initiative for the youth players.

"India's got a good talent but the only issue is we should have more competitions as well as the state and national competitions are concerned. For that, the Federation has to play an important role and state governments also have to play a crucial role. We are providing facilities like Khelo India tournaments, we are investing in youth games. Khelo India has become a big success, and it is the idea of Prime Minister Modi. It created a platform for talented players to come and perform and that is how they grow up the ladder," Anurag said.

He added that SAI in Bengaluru has become a hub for the athletes to train and rehab. He added that SAI in Bengaluru developed in the last few years.

Anurag further added that players come to the SAI facility in Bengaluru for the assessment camps.

"The Government of India's facility of SAI in Bengaluru became a hub of training and rehab for the player. I think the facility has come up well in the last few years... On the other hand, if you see the Khelo India tournaments after the Kehlo India Youth Games, the players who have been selected for hockey come here for the assessment camps...," he added. (ANI)