Minister Rathore unveils ‘Khelo India’ anthem

NEW DELHI: The sports ministry’s ambitious programme, ‘Khelo India’ --- an initiative to scout for talent at the grassroots and provide it with handsome long-term scholarship --- is all set to be launched on January 31.

In the run-up to the event, Union Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore unveiled the mascots (Vijay the tiger and Jaya the black buck) and also launched the anthem “Aur khelna chahte hain hum… Khel mein hi masti hai…. khel se abaad honge hum” at a ceremony.

Speaking on the occasion, Rathore spelt out the plan for 2018, which will have high-profile events such as the Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and hockey World Cup. He said the focus of the sports ministry would be on planning the minutest details for athletes so that they can achieve their best results.

Rathore said the execution of the plan for athletes “will be top class”. “More than 200 calls are being made to these centres each day to ensure the training of our athletes, coaching, their diet is being taken care of.” Khelo India will cost the government 1,756 crore for the next five years.