Rajasthan’s Khelo Rajasthan grassroots sports programme will begin its first phase on December 1, with organisers planning competitions across 12 disciplines and estimating that more than 1 lakh athletes will participate at the district tier. The programme will run through a three-phase tournament structure covering rural and urban areas across the state.
The initiative is being rolled out by the state sports department in association with the Rajasthan State Sports Council. Its tiered competition model will begin at 11,341 gram panchayats before moving through 379 blocks and 628 urban local bodies. Around 9,100 participants are expected to progress to the state-level phase, according to the programme details reported by Times of India – Jaipur.
The first phase will feature volleyball, athletics, tug of war and archery. Kabaddi, football, judo and shooting are scheduled for the second phase, while the final phase will include kho-kho, wrestling, basketball and satoliya. Organisers have planned 150 medals across the disciplines, including 108 medals for individual events and 42 for team events.
The competition is intended to create a formal route from local participation to higher-level training and competition. Players can register through the official Khelo Rajasthan portal or at district sports offices before taking part in local fixtures. Athletes selected from those rounds will be considered for specialised instruction at regional sports centres under technical coaches.
The programme’s implementation will involve multiple departments and institutions, including the youth affairs and sports department, panchayati raj, secondary education, the directorate of local bodies and the IT department. State sports associations will support technical execution, while managers, coaches, assistant coaches and wardens will oversee participating squads.
The planned arrangements also include basic lodging, meals and transit support for participating contingents during the competitive stages. This makes the programme dependent not only on sporting facilities but also on coordination between local administrations, schools, sports bodies and transport and accommodation providers.
Hockey Rajasthan has raised an objection to the discipline list, saying hockey has been excluded from the programme. Its president, Mahipal Singh Nimbara, has written to Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and senior sports officials seeking the sport’s inclusion.
Nimbara said hockey should be part of the initiative so that rural and urban players are not denied an opportunity to compete through the state-wide platform. The organisation’s request adds a pending decision to the programme’s rollout as officials prepare for the December 1 opening.
Registrations remain open online at khelorajasthan.rajasthan.gov.in and offline through district sports offices. The first phase is scheduled to begin on December 1, after which the programme will advance through its planned local, district and state-level stages.
