HARPAL SINGH BEDI /New Delhi

In a bid to encourage mass participation and promote excellence in sports, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, unveiled the schedule of Khelo India School Games 2018 at an event in New Delhi on Monday.

Commencing on January 31, , the Khelo India School Games will be the first programme to mark the beginning of Khelo India, a category defining, holistic sports development programme. Star Sports, India’s leading sports broadcaster has come in as broadcast partner.

Sports minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore,unveiled the Khelo India Anthem, a spirited composition, which resonates with the vision of the programme, of nurturing a rich sporting culture in the country.

The anthem is conceptualised by Ogilvy, composed by Louis Bank and the film has been produced by Nirvana Films.

Khelo India School Games will be held at multiple venues across Delhi including, the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Indira Gandhi Stadium Complex, Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, Karni Singh Shooting Range and Dr. SPM Swimming Complex.

The school games encompass 16 sports disciplines such as Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Boxing, Football, Gymnastics, Hockey, Judo, Kabaddi, Kho-Kho, Shooting, Swimming, Volleyball, Weightlifting and Wrestling.

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Speaking at the ceremony the minister said “Khelo India is a unique programme which is focussed on building a strong sport ecosystem and is committed to long-term professional development of athletes. We aim to take this initiative to as many sportspersons and aspirants across the country as possible.

“”The Khelo India School Games will play a pivotal role in this movement, by encouraging participation among youngsters. For the first time, the games will be broadcast, on Star Sports, which will inspire more youngsters to become a part of this sporting revolution in the years to come.”

Star Sports will telecast live the whole programme from 31January to 8 February. Speaking on the occasion its managing director Sanjay Gupta, said, “We are delighted to partner with Khelo India, an initiative by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to enable the development of sporting culture amongst youth in India. It is the youth of India that will take sports to greater heights.

“Sadly children in India – on average- get to play for only 3 to 5 minutes per day which is grossly insufficient. It has to be understood that education without sports is incomplete. This is where Khelo India will play a pivotal role in building great sportspersons of the future.”

“We share this vision with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, and we are proud to be the broadcast partner for the games.” he added.