New Delhi: More than 1,350 athletes from over 30 states and Union Territories will compete in the inaugural Khelo India Beach Games will turn a new chapter in India’s sporting history, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday.
The event was declared open by Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya through a fitting ceremony at the Ghogla Beach in Diu.
PM Modi said that the Khelo India Beach Games will add to the transformative force for sports in the country as he extended his best wishes for the organisers.
“In a nation as diverse as ours, sports has always held a unique power that unites cultures, regions and languages,” the PM said.
“The vibrant energy of sports goes beyond entertainment and has become a transformative force, symbolising national pride and aspirations of our youth. It is in this context that the Khelo India Beach Games hold a greater significance.”
The Prime Minister hoped that the competition will make waves in the sporting calendar after it began in Diu, overlooking the Arabian Sea.
“An amalgamation of sun, sand and water, they enhance the physical challenge and at the same time, celebrate our coastal heritage. As waves lash the shores and athletes compete, India will script a new sporting chapter,” he added.
Medals will be given in six sporting disciplines of football, volleyball, sepaktakraw, kabaddi, pencak silat and open water swimming. Mallakhamb and tug-of-war are the two non-medal (demonstration) disciplines.
“Today, we are not just inaugurating a sports event, we are heralding India’s first beach sports revolution. I believe that where there are waves, there should be passion; where there is sand, there should be a fire of enthusiasm – and the Khelo India Beach Games have ignited that fire in all our hearts today,” Mandaviya said.
“Such sports like beach volleyball not only appeal to the youth as a hobby but also offer them career opportunities. This is the first time that competitive sports are being held on such a large scale on the beaches of India.”