Volleyball, athletics, wrestling events in villages to spot rural talent

Abhyduaya Kotnala

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 5

The Youth Welfare Department will organise rural games to identify sporting talent among the youth and offer them opportunities to play in the 2018 National Games.

Department officials said the state government would organise kabbadi, kho-kho, volleyball, athletics and wrestling tournaments (in both boys and girls categories) in 7,657 gram sabhas of the state. They said such tournaments would provide a platform to the youth of the hill region to showcase their talent and make it to the national teams. The department had sent an estimate of Rs 5.61 crore for organising the games to the government for approval.

Those who want to participate in the games can register themselves at their schools, colleges or the Yuvak Mangal Dal office. The winners of the events will be awarded certificates and a medals. The players who secure the first place will get an opportunity to play in the block-level tournaments. And they can move on to play at the national level.

“The government is trying to nurture the sporting talent of the rural youth so that they can represent the state at the national and international levels. These tournaments will be conducted in all gram sabhas of the state. The final schedule is yet to be announced, but the event is likely to take place in the last week of July,” said Shakti Singh, Deputy Director, Youth Welfare Department.