Anurag Thakur launches official mascot, logo and jersey of Khelo India Youth Games

Union Sports Miner Anurag Thakur launched the mascot ‘Dhakad’ along with official logo and official jersey of the Fourth Khelo India Youth Games at Panchkula on Saturday and lauded the effort of Haryana to host the games.
Thakur was accompanied Haryana Chief Miner ML Khattar, Haryana deputy CM Dushyant Chautala and Haryana sports miner Sandeep Singh during the function. Last week saw the conclusion of the Khelo India University Games and Thakur was of the view that Haryana will set an example in hosting the fourth edition of the Khelo India Youth Games from June 4 to June 13 at Panchkula and other cities.
“The mascot of the games is ‘Dhakad’ and I am sure that these games will also be Dhakad. Khelo India Games are the brainchild of PM Narendra Modi and his vision of how to take India forward in sports. The Khelo India University Games at Bengaluru saw the participation of more than 3,500 players and a total of 7,500 players and officials.”
“The fourth edition of Khelo India Youth Games will see more than 8,500 participating players. While there were two traditional games included in KIUG, we have introduced five traditional games like gatka, thang-ta, kalarippayattu, mallakhamb and yogasana in Khelo India Youth Games. Apart from these, players will showcase their talent in 20 sports disciplines,” said Thakur during the function.

धाकड़ हरियाणा, धाकड़ MASCOT #KheloIndia2021 #KIYG2021
|@kheloindia @Media_SAI | pic.twitter.com/pWqii9Ysob
— Anurag Thakur (@ianuragthakur) May 7, 2022
The games were earlier scheduled to happen in October-November last year before they were postponed to February this year owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. The games, which are to be held in 25 sports disciplines including five indigenous disciplines, will be held in Shahbad, Ambala, Chandigarh, Panchkula and Delhi.
During the launch of the official mascot on Saturday, players like Tokyo Paralympics silver medall Yogesh Kathuniya, boxer Amit Panghal, athlete Manjeet Chahal, shooter Manu Bhaker, archer Ridhi and other players were present.
“In the Khelo India University Games last week, we saw two national records being broken, along with 20 other records. Swimmers Srihari Nataraj and Maana Patel and many more players displayed their talent in Khelo India games and later went on to compete at the world level, including the Olympics. The sports minry is spending more than Rs 144 crore on the training of 2,300 Khelo India athletes and our endeavour is to provide opportunities to everyone in the country. I am sure that the fourth edition of the Khelo India Youth Games will also see many records being broken with the emergence of new talents. I wish all the players luck for competing in the games,” Thakur added.

5 traditional games Gatka, Thang-ta, Yogasana, Kalaripayattu, and Mallakhamb will be included in the 4th #KheloIndiaYouthGames to be held in Haryana.
The biggest contingent of 8500 players will participate in this youth games
Union Miner @ianuragthakur pic.twitter.com/VIzVAGAsnX
— PIB India (@PIB_India) May 7, 2022

खेलो इंडिया यूथ गेम्स या खेलो इंडिया की सोच यह प्रधानमंत्री श्री @narendramodi जी की कल्पना है । खेलों में भारत को आगे कैसे लेकर जाना है।कोई आयोजन हो या खिलाड़ियों को तराश कर देश के लिए मेडल जीतने की बात, देश में सबसे अव्वल नंबर पर कोई राज्य आता है तो उसका नाम हरियाणा है । pic.twitter.com/gAC2QyCrS8
— Office of Mr. Anurag Thakur (@Anurag_Office) May 7, 2022
Haryana CM ML Khattar urged all the departments to function smoothly in order to make the games a success. “While the fourth edition of the Khelo India Youth Games were postponed earlier, the extra time has given us more time to prepare. With 28 days remaining in the start of the games, all the infrastructure and preparations have been done and we welcome players from all over the country to give their best. I also urge all the departments along with the sports department to work in tandem and make these games successful,” said Khattar.
Haryana sports miner Sandeep Singh too wished the players. “The games are finally happening after the delay due to Covid-19. Khelo India Games instill confidence among players and I thank PM Narendra Modi and union sports miner Anurag Thakur for giving Haryana the opportunity to host such games. This is the first time that Haryana is hosting the national games and we will make sure that it’s a memorable experience for the players as well as the officials,” said Singh.
The article has been written Sushant Nepta who is an intern with the Indian Express