The 2023 edition of the Delhi State School Games was inaugurated by Delhi Education and Sports Minister Atishi at Chhatrasal Stadium on Thursday.

To nurture emerging sportspersons within Delhi schools and offer students an opportunity to exhibit their sporting skills, the Delhi government organises the Games every year.

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The main aim of this annual sports event is to encourage grassroots-level participation, promote a healthy lifestyle, foster sports culture in Delhi schools, and identify and nurture budding sports talents.

While inaugurating the event, Atishi said children are often advised to concentrate solely on their studies rather than engaging in sports and extracurricular activities. “However, today I would like to tell all the parents and elders who offer this advice that our children often acquire more knowledge when they actively participate in sports rather than confining themselves to classrooms,” she said.

She emphasised, “Becoming a sportsperson is no easy feat. When we witness athletes like Neeraj Chopra, PV Sindhu, and Mary Kom winning medals for India as spectators, we remember their outstanding performances on that particular day, but we tend to overlook the years of hard work they invested. Being a sportsperson is far from easy and requires an immense amount of dedication and effort. Whether it’s a javelin thrower, a relay racer, a boxer, a wrestler, a cricketer, or a swimmer, for each remarkable performance, they dedicate days and nights to preparation. Only then do they ascend to national or international prominence.”

Atishi urged all Department of Education (DoE) officials and teachers to encourage students to engage in sports and actively contribute to their holistic development.

In all 3,545 government, government-aided, and private recognized schools from 29 zones in 16 districts under the Directorate of Education participated in Zonal Sports competitions encompassing 32 games across the U-14, U-17, and U-19 categories.

The winners from the 29 zones will now take part in Delhi State School Games 2023-24 that began today. In addition to this, sports activities are also being organized for children with disabilities in nine different games during Delhi State School Games.

Most of the games under the list of 32 games are also in the list of sports in international games like the Olympics, Asian Games and Commonwealth games, etc.