Khelo India Youth Games 2024: All you need to know about India's premier sports event

Representational Image (Pic: AFP)

The Khelo India Youth Games 2024, scheduled to take place in Tamil Nadu from January 19 to 31, will be the sixth edition of the premier event under Indian government's Khelo India initiative, aiming to promote sports at the grassroots levels.

The event, which is scheduled to be held across four Southern cities of Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, and Trichy, will see participation of over 5,000 athletes from all over the country. Silambam, a form of Indian martial arts, was included in the Khelo India Youth Games 2024 as a demo sport. The competitions will be held in the under-18 age category.

Having operated in the form of a team championship, the medals earned by individual athletes or teams contribute to the overall medals tally of their respective State or Union Territory (UT) in the Khelo India Youth Games. Upon the event's conclusion, the respective State or UT winning the highest number of gold medals is declared the champions.

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The fifth edition of the KIYG was spread across eight cities in Madhya Pradesh and New Delhi. Over 5,000 athletes, representing as many as 36 states and Union Territories, competed for 973 medals in 27 sporting disciplines. The host state of Madhya Pradesh boasted the largest contingent of around 500 athletes.

Defending champions Maharashtra and Haryana are the only states to have won the Khelo India Youth Games titles thus far.

Haryana topped the Khelo India Youth Games medals table in the inaugural edition in 2018, then called the Khelo India School Games.

Maharashtra was declared the champions in 2019 and 2020 before Haryana regained their title in 2022. Maharashtra won the Khelo India Youth Games 2023 title with 56 gold medals, 55 silvers and 50 bronze. Haryana finished second with 41 golds, 32 silvers and 55 bronze.

(With inputs from Olympics.com)