Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar who is currently busy promoting his upcoming movie PadMan, lent his support to Khelo India, a landmark initiative to foster holistic sports development in India, by taking the pledge and urging everyone to come forward and play. The actor also urged Indian youngsters to come forth and be a part of the modern sporting revolution. Akshay Kumar who is himself a fitness freak has always been an advocate of sports being an important discipline which contributes in shaping the future of the youth of our country.
“I am delighted to see that for the first time ever, through the Khelo India School Games & the broadcast of it on the Star Sports network, young sporting talent is being recognized and rewarded instantly. But this is only the beginning and I hope that the Khelo India movement gets the right momentum through your support. So, come forward and support the Khelo India movement. Saath mein hai Hum, Khelo India!” he said while commenting on the association with the pioneering initiative.
Akshay Kumar was also present at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi on Tuesday evening to be a part of the inaugural Khelo India School Games. He interacted with the young sports stars and even tried his hand at Badminton with one of the participants, Maisam Meiraba Luwang, a 16-year-old youngster from Manipur. Akshay Kumar also emphasised on the need of quality broadcast to reiterate the unifying message of Khelo India across the country.
With over 3500 athletes, 1250 officials and over 800 volunteers coming together over the course of 9 days, the magnitude of Khelo India School Games is unprecedented. There are 199 gold medals, 199 silver medals, 275 bronze medals up for grabs across 16 disciplines under which. The opening ceremony of the programme was held in New Delhi on January 31, 2018 in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The program is slated to conclude on February 8, 2018.