Sports Ministry includes Kalaripayattu in Khelo India Youth Games

New Delhi: The Sports Ministry has approved the inclusion of four indigenous sports, including Gatka and Kalaripayattu, in the Khelo India Youth Games 2021, scheduled to take place in Haryana.

The other two games included are Thang-Ta and Mallakhamba.

Speaking about the decision, Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju said, "India has a rich heritage of indigenous sports, and it is a priority for the Sports Ministry to preserve, promote and popularise these games."

"There is no better platform than the Khelo India Games where athletes of these games can compete.

"I am confident that in the 2021 Khelo India Youth Games these four disciplines, along with yogasana, will get their much deserved attention among sports enthusiasts and youth of the country.

"In the coming years we will be able to add more indigenous sports at the Khelo Games."

The four selected games represent different parts of the country.

Kalaripayattu has its origin in Kerala and has practitioners all over the world, Bollywood actor Vidyut Jammwal being one.

Mallakhamba, meanwhile, has been well-known across India and Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra have been the hotspots of this sport.

Gatka originates in the state of Punjab and this traditional fighting style of the Nihang Sikh warriors is used both as self-defence as well as a sport.

Thang-Ta, a Manipur marital art, has passed into oblivion in the recent decades, but the sport will get national recognition again with the help of the Khelo India Youth Games.

"We are sure that this effort of Khelo India will certainly help to promote and revive a forgotten Indian traditional martial art having a historical significance," said Harjeet Singh Gerwal, President, National Gatka Association of India.

The Thang-Ta federation also said that the competition will vastly popularise the sport.

"Over 400 athletes from different states will participate in the competition. We want to be very successful in the competition and this will help us get more recognition nationally and internationally," said Vinod Sharma, Secretary, Thang-Ta Federation of India.