Sports News | Brainstorming Session Ends with Fresh Thoughts on School Games, Coaches & Athletes' Welfare

Hyderabad, Mar 8 (PTI) Fresh emphasis on the promotion of school sports, early talent identification and production of quality coaches were some of the major areas of consensus during the second and final day of the brainstorming session held here on Saturday with Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya in the chair.

The two-day Chintan Shivir (brainstorming session) concluded with sports ministers of States/UTs and other key stakeholders agreeing that a collaborative approach was required to realise the dream of India hosting the 2036 Olympics and perform better at the next Summer Games in Los Angeles in 2028.

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Mandaviya, who led the sessions on both days, emphasized that the discussions at the Chintan Shivir should not remain confined within the four walls of a conference room. Instead, he urged that they should serve as a catalyst for realizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047, where sports play a pivotal role in nation-building.

On Day 1 of the Chintan Shivir at the Kanha Shanti Vanam, discussions among the States/UTs and the Central Government centred around sports development and governance.

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On Day 2, stakeholders agreed that fresh emphasis should be given to promoting school sports, production of quality coaches and welfare of athletes.

"The house agreed that talent identification should begin early, supported by a robust ecosystem to ensure that no potential talent gets unnoticed," a sports ministry release said.

Mandaviya emphasized that athletes are valuable assets to the nation, adding that the National Sports Repository System is being upgraded to enable close monitoring and systematic development of every registered athlete.

"The discussion was unanimous in recognizing that talent identification and development must begin early for India to secure a top 10 finish at the 2036 Olympics," he said.

"To achieve this goal, stakeholders explored the idea of reimagining the National School Games, envisioning it as a structured platform that provides competitive exposure and a clear developmental pathway, starting at the district level.

"With 15 lakh schools in India and eight crore students, the possibilities were enormous, felt stakeholders and states could take help of the NSRS and the Khelo India Rising Talent Identification (KIRTI) programme."

Part of the Chintan Shivir's agenda was to boost the coaching ecosystem and explore how former athletes can contribute back to sports.

It was discussed that there should be a proper standardisation policy and qualification system so that the best coaches can be introduced into the system.

Welfare of coaches and their holistic skilling were also discussed.

"It was felt that athletes should be at the centre of all developmental schemes. The government has several schemes for athletes to take advantage of and Dr Mandaviya urged states to utilize the Khelo India State Training Centres to train and excel at the global level." PTI PDS

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)