The Sports Ministry has approved the inclusion of four Indigenous Games to be a part of Khelo India Youth Games 2021, scheduled to take place in Haryana. The games include: Gatka, Kalaripayattu, Thang-Ta and Mallakhamba.

About:

Kalaripayattu has its origin from Kerala and has practitioners all over the world; Bollywood actor Vidyut Jammwal being one.

Mallakhamba, meanwhile, has been well-known across India and Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra have been the hotspots of this sport.

Gatka originates from the State of Punjab and this traditional fighting style of the Nihang Sikh Warriors is used both as self-defense as well as a sport.

Thang-Ta, a Manipur marital art has passed into oblivion in the recent decades, but the sport will get national recognition again with the help of the Khelo India Youth Games 2021.

Khelo India Youth Games:
The games are annually held in January or February and are the national level multidisciplinary Grassroot games in the country. They are held for two categories- under 21 college students and under-17 school students.

The event was inaugurated by PM Modi on January 31, 2018, and for the inaugural games, students had competed for 209 gold medals across 16 sports. Every year, 1000 best kids are provided with an annual scholarship of Rs. 5 Lakh for the time period of 8 years for preparing them for the international level sporting events.