Khelo India Youth Games
Khelo India Youth Games and University Games: What's the difference?
There are three different editions of the Khelo India Games which all feature a range of various sports for different age groups
With the government having established three different forms of Khelo India Games under the Khelo India initiative, there may arise some kind of confusion regarding the manner of interpretation of the events. The three different editions are the Khelo India Youth Games, Khelo India University Games and Khelo India Winter Games. However there are two editions of the games that need differentiation specifically.
Khelo India Youth Games
This is specifically meant for children aged below 21 hailing from schools and universities across India. It is a national level event which has over a range of different modern and traditional sports. It is primarily divided into 2 categories for Under 17 and Under 21 players. In order to compete, students must enter on behalf of the SGFI, CBSE or have state or wild card entries to their name.
The best players selected from across different sports will be given a monetary scholarship of 5 lakh every year for 8 years to help prepare them to compete in foreign events. This event was formerly known as the Khelo India School Games and has held 3 editions since 2018. The first was in 2018 in New Delhi followed by Pune in 2019 and Guwahati in 2020. Panchkula is to be the host of the 4th edition in 2022. The events in this edition of the games are Badminton, Basketball, Boxing, Cricket, Gymnastics, Judo, Kabaddi, Volleyball, Wrestling, Athletics, football, Kho Kho and Weightlifting, Swimming, Hockey, Shooting,Gatka, Kalaripayattu, Thang-Ta and Mallakhamba.
Khelo India University Games
As the name suggests, these games are meant specifically for university students across India. The age group is for 18-25-year-old budding sportspersons who compete as representatives of their universities/higher educational institutes. There is active scouting and specific athletes are selected to train for international events in the future.
One edition of this University-specific games has been held in 2020 at Bhubaneshwar. Bengaluru will host the next edition in 2022. Punjab University topped the medals tally in the first edition. The sports events in this edition are: Archery,Athletics,Badminton,Basketball,Boxing,Fencing,Football,Field hockey,Judo ,Kabaddi,Rugby union,Swimming,Table Tennis,Tennis,Volleyball,Weightlifting,Wrestling,Taekwondo,Karate.
