Rich 'Guru-Shishya' tradition to feature in Khelo India School Games opening

File Photo

New Delhi: The legendary Indian tradition of 'teacher-and-student', referred to as the 'Guru-Shishya Parampara', will be celebrated in grand style at the opening ceremony of the inaugural Khelo India School Games (KISG) to be held at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium on January 31.

Depictions of numerous coach-athlete combinations in sports ranging from archery to wrestling and from across the country will be part of the spectacle.

A poignant part of the ceremony will train the spotlight on some wonderful and well-known combinations of coaches and athletes from the disciplines that form a part of KISG programme. This will ensure that the coaches, who teach basics to their students, and help them become elite athletes, are given their due recognition.

Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was very keen that society honours the coaches who work tirelessly to ensure India a place in the sporting firmament.

"We have some wonderful examples of coaches playing a big role in the rise and success of Indian sportspersons and it will be great to bring the tradition back in focus," he said.

The initiative of showcasing of coaches of all levels with their eminent trainees is in keeping with Rathore's recent indication that the Government is revamping the incentives scheme to encompass all coaches who have been instrumental in an athlete's journey from the early days through the development stage to international acclaim.

Some of the legendary 'Gurus' and some of their 'Shishyas' that will be featured in the opening ceremony include Dharmendra Tiwary with Dola Banerjee (archery), PT Usha with Tintu Kuka and Jishna Mathew (athletics), Pullela Gopichand with Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu, K Srikanth )badminton ), Amarjeet Singh with Vishesh Briguvanshi (basketball), Ibomcha Singh with MC Marykom and Vikas Krishan (boxing), Savio Medeira with Baichung Bhutia and Sunil Chhetri (football), Bisheshwar Nandi with Dipa Karmakar (gymnastics), Harendra Singh with Sardar Singh and Rani (hockey), Balwan Singh with Rahul Chaudhary and Ajay Thakur (kabaddi), Sanjeev Sharma with Sarika Kale (kho-kho), Nihar Ameen with Virdhawal Khade and Srihari Natarajan (swimming), GE Sridharan with Vaishnav and Akhin GS (volleyball), Pal Singh Sandhu with Swati Singh and Ravi Kumar (weightlifting), Satpal with Sushil Kumar (wrestling), Kuldip Malik with Sakshi Malik (wrestling).