Urban & Rural Olympic Games to start from June 23

Jaipur: The first edition of Rajiv Gandhi Urban Olympic Games and second edition of Rural Olympic Games will start from June 23, announced Rajasthan sports minister Ashok Chandna here on Tuesday. He also inaugurated the web portal for players’ registration for the Rural Games which is now operational for use.
“Last year, a budget of Rs 40 crore was sanctioned by the state government, while this year Rs 130 crore has been set aside for the two Games which will be flagged off on International Olympic Day (June 23) and conclude on International Sport Day (August 26). The Urban Games and Rural Games will be organised at three and four levels respectively,” the sports minister said.
Chandna is hopeful that the involvement of the people will be much higher this year. “Around 30 lakh people across age-groups participated in the Rural Olympics and I believe this year we will cross that mark. It is because of the support of the state government that athletes from Rajasthan won 48 medals and the state finished at the fourth spot at Khelo India Youth Games 2023, which is four times higher than what was achieved in the previous years. The Rural and Urban Games will further help in building the sports culture in the state,” he added. Moreover, players from across age-groups will be seen competing in seven games in both Urban and Rural Games.
Earlier the Urban Olympics were scheduled for January 26, but things did not materialize. Around 9.50 lakh people registered for the same and those names will be added to the news entries which will come once registration portal for the urban Games reopens. “We will restart the registration process for the Urban Olympics very soon,” the sports minister said.