Under the aegis of the Sports Authority of India and the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs, the Odisha government is all set to host the first-ever Khelo India University Games at the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) in Bhubaneshwar from 22 February to 1 March.
The event aims to create a platform for the youth to exhibit their sporting talent at the university level. As many as 176 universities of the country have reportedly agreed to participate in the first-ever edition.
The list includes Panjab University, Chandigarh, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, University of Delhi, Shivaji University, Kolhapur, University of Calicut, University of Calcutta, Jain University, Bengaluru, University of Mumbai, University of Kerala, LNIPE University, Gwalior, University of Madras, SRM University, Chennai, Jamia Millia Islamia University, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla, University of Mysore, ITM Gwalior, Veer Narmada University, Surat, University of Jammu, RMT Nagpur and several other universities.
Notably, the Khelo India Youth Games will witness more than 5000 athletes fight it out for the top spot across 17 different disciplines- archery, athletics, boxing, fencing, judo, swimming, weightlifting, wrestling, badminton, basketball, football, hockey, table tennis, tennis, volleyball, rugby and kabaddi. The events will be held at different venues all within the KIIT University Campus.
However, there a few exceptions- while the Badminton and table tennis events will be held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Cuttack, athletics are reportedly going to be held at the Kalinga Stadium.
(With inputs from IANS)