The wait for Khelo India Youth Games-2021 is over. The Union home minister Amit Shah will officially launch the sports festival in Panchkula on Saturday at 7.30 pm.

About 8,500 players, coaches, and support staff from across the country will participate in the fourth edition of ‘Khelo India Youth Games-2021′. Players will show their mettle for a total of 1866 medals which includes 545 Gold, 545 Silver, and 776 Bronze medals.

As many as 25 types of sports will be organized at five venues Panchkula, Ambala, Shahabad, Chandigarh, and Delhi. However, Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex, Panchkula will be the main venue for these sports events.

The venue has a seating arrangement for around 7,000 spectators. Five traditional sports namely Gatka, Kalaripayattu, Thang-Ta, Mallakhamb, and Yogasana have also been included in this prestigious competition for the first time.

The athletics tournament will be held from 7 June to 9 at Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Panchkula. Football league and a semi-final match will be held at Panjab University, Chandigarh from 4 June to 10 June, while a semi-final and final match football will be held from 11 June to 13 June at Tau Devi Lal Stadium, Panchkula.

Badminton matches will be held from 4 June to 7 June, Table Tennis from 9 June to 13 June, and Kabaddi from 3 June to 7 June in Panchkula.

Handball matches will be held from 9 June to 13 June, wrestling from 4 June to 8 June, basketball from 9 June to 13 June, volleyball from 3 June to 8 June, boxing and kho-kho from 9 June to 13 June at Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Panchkula.

The matches of Gatka and Thang-Ta will be held from 4 June to 7 June at Cricket Stadium, Panchkula. In Panchkula itself, Kalaripayattu competitions will be held from 10 June to 12 June, Yogasan competitions will be held from 4 June to 7 June and Mallakhamb competitions will be held from 8 June to 12 June.

The weightlifting competitions will be held in Sector-14 Government College, Panchkula from June 5 to 9. Tennis matches will be held in Gymkhana Club Sector-6, Panchkula from 7 June to 11 June.

Judo matches will be held at Red Bishop Hall in Panchkula from 9 June to 12 June while archery matches will be held at Panjab University from 10 June to 12 June.

In hockey, the league matches of girls’ teams and finals of both boys’ and girls’ teams will be held at the newly built hockey stadium in Panchkula from 4 June to 10 June, while the league matches of boys’ hockey teams will be held in Shahabad.

The gymnastics competitions will be held in Ambala from 5 June to 7 June. Swimming competitions will be held in Ambala from 8 June to 12 June.

The cycling track events will be held in Delhi from 5 June to 7 June while the cycling road events will be held in Panchkula from 10 June to 12 June. All the shooting events will be held from 6 June to 9 June at Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range in Delhi.

‘Khelo India Youth Games-2021’ is being organised jointly by the Haryana government, the Sports Authority of India (SAI), and the Union ministry of youth affairs and sports from 4 June to 13 June.