Khelo India Youth Games- 2023

About the Khelo India Youth Games- 2023

• Tamil Naduis hosting the sixth edition of the Khelo India Youth Games. This is the first time that Khelo India Youth Games are being held in South India.
• The Games will be played across four cities of Tamil Nadu, namely Chennai, Madurai, Trichy and Coimbatore from 19th to 31st January 2024.
• This edition of Khelo India Youth Games will see participation from over 5600 athletes with over 275 competitive events across 26 sports disciplines and 1 demo sport.
• Silambam, a traditional sport of Tamil Nadu, is being introduced as a demo sport for the first time in the history of Khelo India Youth Games and the sport of Squash shall be organised for the first time in this edition of the Games.
• The Mascot:'Veera Mangai'. Rani Velu Nachiyar, fondly known as Veera Mangai, was an Indian queen who waged a war against British colonial rule.
• The logo: The figure of poet Thiruvalluvar.

Background

• Objective: To revive the sports culture in India at the grass-root level by building a strong framework for all sports played in our country and establish India as a great sporting nation.
• It is an annual event. The first edition was held in 2018 in Delhi.
• Organised by: Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports. 

Q1) Who was Rani Velu Nachiyar,?

She was the first queen to have ever actively opposed British rule and fought against colonial rulers many years before the Sepoy Mutiny. She was trained in war to match weapons usage, martial arts like Valari, Silambam (fighting using the stick), horse riding and archery. 

Source: PM inaugurates opening ceremony of the Khelo India Youth Games 2023