On the occasion of National Sports Day 2023, Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Singh Thakur felicitated the 4x400m men's relay team that set an Asian record at the World Athletics Championships held at Budapest.

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The Minister also launched an Information booklet on Sports Infrastructure Projects sanctioned under the Khelo India Scheme as well as a National Sports Federations portal.

He also launched the third edition of the Fit India Quiz, among other initiatives, at an event at the JLN Stadium here on Tuesday.

The event was attended by almost 500 schoolchildren from New Delhi as well as several elite athletes and officials from the MYAS, SAI and the National Sports Federations.

Addressing the event, Thakur said, “The Wizard of Hockey, Major Dhyan Chand gave us three consecutive Olympic gold medals in hockey in 1928, 1932, and 1936.

This is a fitting day for tribute to this great maestro and I'm happy to observe that over the years, coaches and athletes have also played a big role in taking this sporting revolution forward. Coaches and athletes play a big role.

“There are 3526 events happening today across India and that's a testament of the road to which we have come today. This is an unbelievable phase for Indian sports. In 60 years, there were only 18 medals at the World University Games."

"This year itself, we won 26 medals in the tournament, across all sports Be it Praggnanandha in chess to Antim Panghal in wrestling and Aditi Gopichand Swami in archery, we are getting phenomenal results."

"In the World Athletics Championships Budapest too, our 4x400m relay team gave a great display, along with Parul Chaudhary as well as our evergreen Neeraj Chopra, who has not got gold in every possible high-scale international competition in the sport,” the Minister added."

Commenting on the Fit India Quiz, Thakur said, “I was amazed to see that students from the Tenga valley of Arunachal participated in the Fit India Quiz, along with remote locations in Andaman, Sikkim and so on. They were the top teams in the quiz.”

The National Sports Federations portal launched on Tuesday is in line with the Government of India's vision for Digital India. It is a unified online portal for the NSFs which shall be a single window system for processing of annual renewal of recognition of NSFs, elections of National Sports Federations etc.

This will do away with the existing system of physical mode of submission of documents by NSFs and examination of the same by the Union Sports Ministry. The online portal will also be ensuring better coordination between the Department of Sports and the National Sports Federations.

Similarly, an online application submission and processing portal was launched which will be utilized for handling all the applications for the creation and upgradation of sports infrastructures and demand for sports equipment under the Khelo India Scheme.

This portal will be available for grantees, States, and UTs for submission of their proposals of financial support through this portal from 1st September 2023.

The information booklet on Sports Infrastructure Projects sanctioned under the Khelo India Scheme, meanwhile, showcases how the Khelo India Scheme has transformed the nation for sporting excellence since 2016.

The booklet throws light on the entire sports infrastructure that has been developed and is also in the pipeline in various States and UTs of the country. The Khelo India Scheme, since its inception, has remained pivotal in sports development in the country with a focus on the grassroots level.

To also commemorate the grand occasion and pay a fitting tribute to Hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand on National Sports Day, sports and fitness activities were held across several Government of India offices, Union Ministry offices, Sports Authority of India centres, Khelo India centres, National sports federations as well as schools and colleges. Age-appropriate Competitive and fun games were conducted for the age groups of 18-40 years, 40-60 years and 60+ years.

“From the field of sports to right up there on the moon with Chandrayaan, we have made our mark. This is new India. Our athletes have done it all to make us reach on top. I congratulate not just the NSFs and IOA but also the several parents and coaches who have disciplined their children and made them enter the field of sports,” Thakur added.