Tribal sports to be identified and popularised: CM

Chennai: Sports and games of tribal communities in the State would be identified and popularized as other traditional sports like Silambam and kabaddi were being encouraged now, Chief Minister M K Stalin said on Monday.

Speaking at an event organized by the Department of Youth Welfare and Sports Development at the Nehru Indoor stadium in Chennai, Stalin said that his government would extend all the support and provide the facilities for those who were interested in sports and make them win laurels.

Calling upon the younger generation to go all out in breaking all shackles and emerging victorious in their endeavours since the successes of sports persons were not their individual triumph but that of the State and the nation, he said they had a greater responsibility and duty to perform on that count.

The event, marking the handing over of incentives valued at Rs 16.30 lakh to 19 sports persons, trainers and physical education teachers and Rs 16.28 crore worth higher incentives to 1130 sport persons, also saw the launch of ‘Aadukalam’ (Playing Field), an information centre at the office of Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) and the start of registration for the Chief Minister’s Cup State-level sports competitions.

Stalin said that the event was being organized with a view to taking Tamil Nadu to the prime position in sports and ensuring that sports persons from the State took part in international sports meets and brought home laurels.

The organization of the Chess Olympiad at Mamallapuram, in which 2000 players from 187 nations took part, had created an interest in the game among children in all villages and towns and a scheme to engage experts and grand masters to provide online coaching to students, particularly those in government schools, would soon start, he said.

He referred to the week-long Chennai Open WTA event starting on Monday as another move by the government to encourage sports, besides the Chief Minister’s Cup, for which registrations for Kabbadi began on Monday. Registrations for other disciplines would be held one after the other and the events would take place in all districts from October, he said.

The finals for the Chief Minister’s Cup would be in January and February, which meant that starting now sporting events would be held at various places in the State for the next six months continuously, which would be a ‘boost’ to the entire sporting community, he said.

The events for the Chief Minister’s Cup would be held for men and women under five categories namely schools, colleges, general public, government employees and differently abled, he said, adding that traditional Tamil sports would be importance during the Pongal festival and the events would start from June next year and go up to January.

Students excelling in those traditional games would be admitted to the sports hostels run by the SDAT and given further coaching with a view to training them for participation in national meets, which on the whole would rejuvenate sports in the State, he said.