Khelo India Youth Games: PM Modi to virtually inaugurate, 6000 participants in 27 events

Patna: More than 6,000 athletes will compete in 27 medal sports in the seventh edition of Khelo India Youth Games which will be inaugurated virtually by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday.

The Games, an under-18 event this time, will be held in five cities of Bihar, as well as in New Delhi, and will run till May 15. Thirty-six states and Union Territories will feature in KIYG 2025.

In Bihar, the main venue of the Games will be the Patliputra Sports Complex here. Day 1 action starts with archery (in Bhagalpur), kabaddi (in Rajgir) and volleyball (in Patna).

Athletes will compete for 284 gold medals. The maximum number (38) of gold will be in swimming. Athletics will have 34 while wrestling, weightlifting and boxing will have more than 20 gold each.

Bihar, which will be staging its biggest multi-discipline sporting event, will field more than 450 athletes.

Maharashtra, which will be fielding more than 400 athletes, will aim for a hat-trick of titles, having won the team championships in Madhya Pradesh (2023) and Tamil Nadu (2024).

Bihar, which finished 21st in the last KIYG in Tamil Nadu, will take inspiration from the fact that host states have always done well in the Games. Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu finished in top-three when they hosted KIYG.

Haryana, a traditional powerhouse in these Games, will have more than 300 athletes. Karnataka (236) and Tamil Nadu (307) will also have big representations.

The attraction of the Games has reached every corner of the country and this reflects in the fact that Andaman and Nicobar Islands will field a 10-member team, including five women, many of them cyclists..

Ladakh, known for ice and snow sports, will field 14 athletes while Lakshadweep will have 12 and Sikkim 15 competitors.

Several scouts will be watching every sport to spot talent who can be groomed for the 2032 and 2036 Olympics which India is bidding to host.

In the last Games, 30 records were created. These included 22 national youth records in weightlifting and eight meet records in athletics.