Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday inaugurated a month-long Rajiv Gandhi Rural Olympic Games in Jodhpur.
The village olympics is expected to see the participation of 44,000 villages across Rajasthan, with nearly 30 lakh people across various age groups already registering themselves for the games. Out of the 30 lakh participants, 9 lakh are women.
Games like volleyball, hockey, tennis ball cricket and kho kho will be part of the events.
The rural olympics organised in eleven thousand gram panchayats across the state is an outreach to the rural population, especially the rural youth.
"We are a 135 crore-strong country but medals go to other nations despite us being such a big country. This pain was there in everybody's heart and this beginning has been made keeping this pain in mind," said Mr Gehlot, as quoted by news agency PTI.
The Rajasthan chief minister said that his government intends to turn the rural olympics into an annual event.
"We will also organise Rajiv Gandhi Urban Olympics on similar lines and turn this rural event into an annual event," said Mr Gehlot.
"We will get talented sportspersons in these events and promote them further for participation in national and international sports events," he added.
With now just about a year to go for elections in Rajasthan, the government is looking at schemes and programs that will connect people with the Gehlot government.
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