- Gujarat athletes urged to lead India’s medal haul when the nation hosts the Olympics 2036
- Record 1.57 lakh participants—including 70,000 women—power Gandhinagar’s grassroots sports movement
- Fivefold rise in India’s sports budget fuels medal surge at Commonwealth, Asian & Para Games
- Sansad Khel Mahotsav becomes India’s biggest talent search engine across age groups
NE SPORTS BUREAU
GANDHINAGAR, DEC 6
Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah addressed the closing ceremony of the Sansad Khel Mahotsav 2025 in Ahmedabad, celebrating one of India’s largest grassroots sporting festivals. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi were present.
“Sansad Khel Mahotsav is Modi Ji’s vision to build India’s biggest talent pipeline”
Shah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of organising a Sansad-level sports festival every year has transformed the sporting landscape. More than 1.5 lakh participants—including a remarkable 70,000 women—registered in the Gandhinagar constituency alone this year.
He said that today, Sansad Khel Mahotsav events are being held in over 300 Lok Sabha constituencies, offering students, youth and senior citizens a powerful platform for fitness, competition and talent identification.
Sports teaches discipline, team spirit and resilience
Shah emphasised that sports instil qualities no textbook can teach—discipline, patience, team spirit and sportsmanship.
“After losing, get back on the field with the hunger to win again. And after winning, stay humble. This is the greatest lesson sports gives,” he said.
1.57 lakh athletes across seven age categories—from Under-9 to Over-60
The Mahotsav in Gandhinagar was conducted in three phases from October to December, covering rural, assembly and Lok Sabha levels.
Highlights include:
• 1,57,000 participants
• 87,000 male and 70,000 female athletes
• 8,500 medal winners
• Seven age groups: Under-9, Under-11, Under-14, Under-17, Over-40, Over-50, Over-60
• Events across athletics, badminton, chess, Mallakhamb, swimming, yogasana, kho-kho, kabaddi and volleyball
Shah urged that in the next edition, daughters should surpass sons in both participation and medal tally.
Ahmedabad to gear up for Commonwealth Games 2030 and Olympics 2036
Calling Gujarat the cradle of India’s largest sports reforms, Shah said the state has secured the rights to host the Commonwealth Games 2030 and must now prepare to welcome the Olympics 2036.
He said the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex, built at a cost of nearly ₹800 crore, has become an international-standard facility offering world-class coaching.
“When India hosts the Olympics, Gujarat should win the highest number of medals,” he said, urging athletes and coaches to begin preparations now.
India’s sports budget skyrockets—driving historic medal wins
Shah highlighted India’s massive investment in sports:
• ₹800 crore in 2014 → ~₹4,000 crore in 2025 (fivefold rise)
• Commonwealth Games medals: 15 (2014) → 26 (2018) → 22 (2022)
• Asian Games medals: 57 → 107
• Para Asian Games medals: 33 → 111
He expressed confidence that when India hosts the Olympics, it will be among the top five nations in the medal tally.
Gujarat leads India’s biggest sports movement
Shah said programmes such as Khelo Gujarat, Khel Mahakumbh, talent search camps, sports schools, academies and modern training centres have made Gujarat the state with India’s largest grassroots sports movement.
Sports for a healthy, addiction-free youth
Shah appealed to athletes to pledge a Nasha-Mukt life (addiction-free), plant at least five saplings, and support the Green Gandhinagar Movement.
He said the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex reminds every athlete of the patriotism and sacrifice of the great revolutionary and motivates them to play for the nation with pride.
