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In another major boost to the sporting landscape in the country, India is ready to witness the first-ever Khelo India University Games 2020. After the highly successful three editions of the Youth Games, it was only a matter of time before the government kickstarted the Games at the university level.
The 10-day event will officially kickstart on 22nd February and go on till 1st March 2020. Notably, four sports, namely basketball, fencing, football, and volleyball will be contested on 21st February 2020.
Approximately 3399 athletes between the age group 17-25 are expected to take part in the mega event. The athletes will fly to the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology in Bhubhaneshwar from 159 Universities from around the country to take part in KIUG 2020.
Aim of KIUG 2020?
The flagship university-level event aims to unearth raw sporting talent in the country and identify athletes who can be medal contenders in international events such as the Olympics.
This will also help in increasing the culture of sports in multiple colleges and universities of the country as KIUG will be the biggest platform for budding athletes to showcase their talent and gain recognition. Some of the biggest Universities of the country such as the University of Delhi, Punjab University, MDU Rohtak will be taking part in the inaugural event.
The initiation of the Sporting extravaganza will also contribute towards and fit and healthy society. The main objectives of KIUG 2020 are -
1. To create an aspiration value amongst the youngsters
2. Create a sporting culture across the country
3. To bench-mark the technical conduct of the games with international standards
Here is all you need to know about the inaugural edition of KIUG
The organizers?
The first edition of KIUG 2020 will be organized by the Odisha government with the association of National Sports Federations, the Sports Authority of India (SAI), Indian Olympic Association (IOA), the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), as well as the management of all the participating universities.
Sporting disciplines and KIUG schedule
There will be a total of 17 Sporting disciplines at KIUG 2020. Following is their schedule:
1. Archery (22nd February – 26th February)
2. Athletics (28th February – 1st March)
3. Badminton (23rd February – 26th February)
4. Basketball (21st February – 24th February)
5. Boxing (25th February - 1st March)
6. Fencing (21st February - 24th February)
7. Football (21st February – 1st March)
8. Hockey (22nd February - 28th February)
9. Judo (27th February – 29th February)
10. Kabaddi (26th February – 1st March)
11. Rugby (26th February – 28th February)
12. Swimming (23rd February - 26th February)
13. Table Tennis (27th February – 1st March)
14. Tennis (22nd February – 28th February)
15. Volleyball (21st February – 24th February)
16. Weightlifting (26th February – 29th February)
17. Wrestling (27th February – 1st March)
If we are to compare these with the Khelo India Youth Games, then we can see that gymnastics, cycling, kho-kho, and lawn bowls are some of the sports that have been excluded while rugby and fencing have been added. There will be a total of 211 events conducted at KIUG 2020 across these 17 sporting disciplines.
Click HERE to download the complete KIUG 2020 schedule!
Venues
Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) University Campus, Bhubaneshwar, Odisha will be the main centre. The KIIT Stadium has a total of 12 sports complexes that include multi-purpose halls, state-of-the-art swimming pools, indoor stadiums, and outdoor courts. The venue for KIUG 2020 is spread over 29 acres.
Bhubaneswar has become a popular city for hosting some of the biggest sporting events. It also hosted the Men’s Hockey World Cup in 2018, the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships in 2019, and the Hockey Olympic Qualifiers. The capital city of Odisha will now be hosting the inaugural edition of Khelo India Youth Games.
A total of 11 venues will be there spread across Bhubaneshwar and Cuttack. Here are the venues for each sport -
1. Archery: Archery Ground Campus - 10
2. Athletics: Kalinga Stadium
3. Badminton: JLN Indoor Stadium - Cuttack
4. Basketball: Multi-Purpose Indoor Hall - Campus - 13
5. Boxing: Multi Purpose Indoor Hall - Campus - 13
6. Fencing: Multi Purpose Sports Hall - Saheed Nagar
7. Football:
a) Football Stadium - Campus – 13
b) Football Ground - Campus – 5
c) Football Ground - Campus - 13
8. Hockey: Hockey Stadium - Campus - 13
9. Judo: Multi Purpose Sports Hall - Saheed Nagar
10. Kabaddi: Multi Purpose Indoor Hall - Campus - 13
11. Rugby: Rugby Stadium - Campus - 13
12. Swimming: Kalinga Stadium
13. Table Tennis: JLN Indoor Stadium - Cuttack
14. Tennis: Sports Complex - Campus - 8 & 9
15. Volleyball: Multi Purpose Indoor Hall - Campus - 13
16. Weightlifting: Multi Purpose Indoor Hall - Campus - 13
17. Wrestling:
a) Multi Purpose Indoor Hall - Campus – 9
b) KIIT Int’l School
Sport-wise medal breakup
Where can you watch Khelo India University Games?
KIUG 2020 will be broadcast on Star Sports First, Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 Hindi and DD Sports. LIVE streaming of certain events will also be available on Hotstar from 10 AM on February 22nd.
Sportskeeda will also be providing the major updates on KIUG 2020 medal tally for all the events at KIUG.
Conclusion
Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju has said that there will be many International sporting champions emerging from Khelo India University Games, calling it a 'revolutionary step by the government'. Renowned sports personalities such as Pullela Gopichand have also hailed the government for starting the Games with Gopichand labelling this as the 'Universities' perfect incubators for sporting talent.'
Athletes such as Asian Games silver medallist Dutee Chand, who is also the current women's 100m national record holder, will also be participating in the 10-day event.
Also Read: Khelo India University Games 2020 Schedule: Day 1 Preview, order of play & match list
