A Disappointing Turnout in Wrestling Category of Khelo India

Khelo India School Games that have been started in 2018 to promote sports and increase participation is a dream project of our Indian Prime Minister. It was very disappointing to find that the number of participants in various weight groups were lesser than 12. Whereas; in the group of 42 kg, free-style wrestling there were only three entries.

That means all participants were entitled to a medal. The maximum number of entries was in 46-kg free-style wrestling. There were only 16 boys in that category. Mr. Satpal Singh, who is the president of School Games Federation of India, stated that it is a very good platform to promote players. He also raised concern about giving the award money into the right hand and avoid its misuse. Justification was given that the names of 136 wrestlers were given by WFI but 100 of them could not participate because of the delay in listing. Further, there is a provision to pick two sports person from each discipline and award an annual scholarship of  Rs. 5 lakhs for continuously eight years so that they may not have any financial crunch. A talent hunt committee has been formed for selecting these players. WFI has released a justification that the main reasons for poor turnout in wrestling category of Khelo India was confusion over the last date for entries and also the miscommunication between the organizers of the event and players.

By- Anuja Arora

Content: http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/india/poor-turnout-at-the-wrestling-event-of-khelo-india-school-games-in-new-delhi-2501961.html