Bastar Olympics to Kick Off Today, Mega Sport Event Records Overwhelming Response
Event blends traditional and modern sports, empowering tribal youth across seven districts
Raipur: The nearly five-week-long Bastar Olympics, featuring 11 traditional and modern sports and games, is set to kick off on Saturday.
A record number of 3,91,297 people, including Naxal victims and surrendered Maoists drawn from seven districts of the tribal-dominated Bastar division in Chhattisgarh, have registered for participation in the mega sports event.
Of them, 1,63,668 are men and 2,27,629 are women, Chhattisgarh deputy chief minister Arun Sao said here on Friday.
In 2024, only 1,65,000 people, including women, had participated in the event.
“Bastar Olympics is not merely a sports event but a symbol of social awakening, youth energy and cultural pride of tribal-dominated Bastar”, Mr. Saw said.
He said that the Bastar Olympics has already caught the imagination of people at the national level.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned the Bastar Olympics in his Mann Ki Baat programme, which made us all proud. Bastar Olympics is a medium to provide a platform for the sports talent among the youth of Bastar”, he said.
The sports event will be held in three phases, at the block, district and division levels, and is scheduled to end in the last week of November.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah may attend the closing ceremony of the Bastar Olympics, he said.
The key sports and games that will feature the Bastar Olympics 2025 include track and field events, along with various recognized games.
Traditional sports and games such as archery, football, kabaddi, karate, badminton, volleyball, hockey and weight lifting will also feature the event.
The primary objective of this event is to integrate the youth of Bastar into the mainstream and unleash their talent.