Bastar Olympics is renowned across the country, it is not just a regional event: Arun Saw
Raipur. Raipur. Preparations are in full swing for the Bastar Olympics 2025, to be held in all development blocks of the Bastar division. Deputy Chief Minister and Sports and Youth Welfare Minister Arun Saw held a meeting with senior departmental officials and all district sports officers of the Bastar division to review the preparations. He directed special attention to block-level events for a comprehensive and well-organized Bastar Olympics. He directed that advance preparations be made for all basic needs, including the availability of sports grounds, their mapping, food, transportation, accommodation, first aid, arrangements for judges and referees. Yashwant Kumar, Secretary of the Sports and Youth Welfare Department, and Tanuja Salam, Director, were also present at the review meeting. All district sports officers of the Bastar division joined the meeting via video conference.
At the meeting held at Vishram Bhavan in Nava Raipur, officials of the Sports and Youth Welfare Department reported that over 390,000 athletes have registered to participate in the Bastar Olympics so far. These include 42,228 participants from Kanker district, 43,333 from Kondagaon, 44,395 from Dantewada, 46,074 from Narayanpur, 52,312 from Bastar, 40,437 from Bijapur and 40,830 from Sukma district. Registration for Bastar Olympics was started from 22nd September. The work of registration of players will continue till 20th October. Bastar Olympics will be organised at development block level from 25th October to 5th November, district level event from 5th November to 15th November and division level event from 24th November to 30th November.
Deputy Chief Minister Arun Saw reviewed the registration process and extensive publicity of Bastar Olympics in the meeting. He inquired about publicity plans from the village to the district level—such as wall writing, torch processions, poster, banner, pamphlet distribution, and publicity in fairs and markets. He directed them to be made more effective. Mr. Saw reviewed the registration status in each development block and directed that special campaigns be launched in areas with low registration numbers to ensure maximum registration. He directed that the district sports officials should make special efforts to increase male participation, given the lower registration numbers of male participants compared to female participants.
Mr. Saw told officials at the meeting that the Bastar Olympics is no longer just a regional event; its fame has spread throughout the country. Therefore, considering it an event of national importance, it should be organized with high quality and timeliness from the development block to the division level. He also directed that national-level judges be involved and that national and international athletes be invited as a source of inspiration. He also directed all districts to ensure timely and complete preparations for the block-level events scheduled from October 25th to November 5th. Mr. Saw urged them to make special efforts to increase registrations in sports like football, hockey, and volleyball, and to meet financial needs from CSR funds with the support of district collectors, in addition to the budget received from the Sports Department. Deputy Director of the Sports and Youth Welfare Department, Rashmi Thakur, and Sports Officer, Girish Shukla, were also present at the meeting.
Competitions will be held in 11 sports; victims of Naxal violence and surrendered Naxalites will also showcase their strength.
Eleven sports have been included in the Bastar Olympics, which will be held over a month at the block, district, and division levels. Competitions will be held for boys and girls in the junior category, and for men and women in the senior category. Division-level competitions will also be held for men and women, with victims of Naxal violence and surrendered Naxalites. During Bastar Olympics, players from all over Bastar will showcase their sporting skills in athletics, archery, badminton, football, hockey, weightlifting, karate, kabaddi, kho-kho, volleyball and tug of war.
