Bharatpur, November 26
Multitudes of athletes and staff have descended on the eastern city of Bharatpur in Rajasthan, which is otherwise known for the UNESCO-recognised Keoladeo National Park, a bird sanctuary with hundreds of species, and of course, the Lohagarh Fort.
The fifth Khelo India University Games kicked off on Monday, but the wrestling competition started on Tuesday and will end on November 28. As many as 30 categories for men and women will be put on view for the spectators to enjoy at the Lohagarh Stadium, which is not very far from the highway that takes tourists directly to the wondrous Taj Mahal in Agra.
Many wrestlers arrived Monday morning, and Ravinder Malik is one of them. Originally from Rohtak in Haryana, the 24-year-old is representing Janardan Rai Nagar Rajasthan Vidyapeeth in the 74kg freestyle category. It's his second Khelo India University Games. In the previous edition in the North-east, he had failed to win a medal.
Malik, who is one of the top-eight wrestlers in the All-India University Ranking to be able to participate at the 2025 KIUG, was effusive in praise of the Khelo India initiative.
"When I started wrestling eight years ago, there were not many kids into sports in the area where I come from. But now thanks to the Khelo India events, kids want to take up sports. There is more participation, in fact, much more. There are great facilities everywhere right from the ground level," he told SAI Media.
Karuna, a 25-year-old coach with Samruddhi from Shivaji University and Tanu Jat from Barkatullah University, expressed the same sentiments. "When I used to play, the mat quality was really bad, even at the national events but ever since the Khelo events have started taking place, the quality has really gone up, look at the mat we have here. It's world-class."
Karuna, who works at the National Centre of Excellence in Lucknow, goes on to add that the advent of Khelo India has given rise to a lot of awareness. "Kids now realise that they can do both together, like they can play as well as pursue studies. It wasn't like this previously. There is a conducive atmosphere for that now," she said.
Samruddhi, who will participate in 53kg freestyle, was excited and optimistic ahead of the event and said, "I am sure to win a medal, I am 100% sure of that. Hopefully it will be gold."
Meanwhile, Kirti, a 22-year-old wrestler from the Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, said: "Khelo is a good scheme. It provides a lot of encouragement to athletes. Our diet has also improved."
- ANI
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