Khelo Rajasthan, a new grassroots sports programme being organised by the Rajasthan sports department and the Rajasthan State Sports Council, will begin its first phase on December 1 with competitions planned across 11,341 gram panchayats, 379 blocks and 628 urban local bodies.
The programme is designed as a three-phase, tiered tournament covering 12 sports and taking athletes from local competitions to district and state-level contests. Officials estimate that more than 1,00,000 athletes will compete at the district tier, while approximately 9,100 performers are expected to advance to the state-level phase.
Positioned under the campaign slogans “Har Gaon, Har Khel, Har Khiladi”, the initiative is intended to expand organised sporting participation beyond major cities. The structure links panchayats, blocks, districts and the state through a progression system that allows athletes identified in local fixtures to move into higher-level competition.
The first phase will include volleyball, athletics, tug of war and archery. Kabaddi, football, judo and shooting are scheduled for the second phase, while the final phase will feature kho-kho, wrestling, basketball and satoliya. Organisers have allocated 150 medals across the disciplines, including 108 medals for individual events and 42 for team events.
According to scheme documents cited in the report, participants will receive basic lodging, meals and transport arrangements during the competitive stages. State sports associations will support technical execution, while managers, coaches, assistant coaches and wardens will oversee participating squads.
Athletes can register through the official Khelo Rajasthan portal or at district sports offices. The registration process is being coordinated by the youth affairs and sports department along with the panchayati raj department, the secondary education department, the directorate of local bodies and the IT department. The portal listed for registration is khelorajasthan.rajasthan.gov.in, while offline registration is available through district sports offices.
The tournament’s administrative design is intended to create a pathway from local participation to specialised training. Athletes selected from local rounds will be directed to regional sports centres, where assigned technical coaches will provide further instruction and assess their suitability for state and national-level competitions.
The announcement has also led to a demand for the inclusion of hockey. Hockey Rajasthan president Mahipal Singh Nimbara has written to Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, sports minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and senior sports officials, urging the administration to add the sport to the programme.
Nimbara said hockey was an important part of India’s sporting heritage and argued that its exclusion was inconsistent with the programme’s stated aim of reaching talent across rural and urban Rajasthan. Hockey Rajasthan has asked the state government to provide players with access to the tournament’s competitive platform.
The first phase of Khelo Rajasthan is scheduled to open on December 1. Further competition stages, athlete progression and technical training will be managed through the participating departments, sports associations and district-level sports offices.
