Khel Maharan is a sports project developed by the Directorate of Sports and Youth Welfare, Government of Assam, that aims to discover and support sporting talent from the village level to a district, state, and national level.
Key Highlights of Khel Maharan 2.0 (2023 – 24)
- Dates of event: November 1, 2023, to January 10, 2024. Kamrup Metropolitan District
- Number of athletes: More than 7000 athletes from around Assam participated; there were 1,040 athletes from Kamrup Metropolitan district.
- Games: Athletics, football, kabaddi, volleyball, chess, swimming and road cycling (with traditional cycle).
- Selection Process: Competitions were held starting at the panchayat level and advancing through district and state levels. For example, there were trials for football players at the assembly-constituency and district levels and trials for swimmers were at assembly-constituency and zonal levels.
Aim: Khel Maharan ultimately seeks to reduce the gap between rural talent and opportunities in sport such that if any athlete is to excel at the village level, they can have opportunities to excel at larger competition levels. The idea of Khel Maharan was to not only recognise local sporting stars excelling in their sport but also to bring them to the forefront.
Outcome: Khel Maharan has been successful at promoting sporting values and cultural exposure as evidenced with several of participants who progressed to be selected to represent Assam at the national level later on.
