The Sports Authority of India (SAI) will launch on Monday 'Khelo India e-Pathshala' with an aim to educate young athletes, who have not been able to train in their academies due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
SAI will launch the programme in association with the National Sports Federations. Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju and Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda will inaugurate the programme through a webinar on June 1 at 9 am, a session that will be attended by archers, archery coaches and experts of the discipline.
The programme is India's first-ever national-level open online coaching and education programme for grassroots-level athletes. In its second phase, scheduled to start soon, the programme will reach out to development-level athletes as well.
The programme will cover 21 sporting disciplines, including, Athletics, Archery, Boxing, Cycling, Fencing, Football, Gymnastics, Hockey, Judo, Kayaking and Canoeing, Kabaddi, Para Games, Rowing, Shooting, Taekwondo, Table Tennis, Volleyball, Weightlifting, Wrestling and Wushu.
The e-learning programme will see eminent athletes demonstrating technical skills and speaking to young athletes about techniques to improve their game.
The programme will also be lead by a committee of eminent coaches and observed by a committee of sports scientist, high-performance directors and high-performance managers, who will give their on-ground feedback about the course.
Khelo India is a flagship scheme of the Sports Ministry through which the grassroot-level athletes are identified and coached at several Khelo India and SAI academies across the country.
The Khelo India athletes are given an annual scholarship of Rs 6.28 lakh each, which includes a monthly out of pocket allowance of Rs 10,000 and training, boarding, food, equipment at a Khelo India academy or SAI academy.
The annual Khelo India Youth Games and Khelo India University Games are conducted to scout for talent in more than 20 disciplines. Many athletes identified through the Khelo India Scheme have gone on to win international-level competitions, including medals at the Youth Olympics.
( With inputs from ANI )