Sports

Notes:
Recently, it was announced that the first-ever Khelo India Water Sports Festival will be held at Dal Lake in Srinagar from 21st to 23rd August. It is part of the growing Khelo India sports calendar after the first Khelo India Beach Games in Diu in May. The festival will feature five sports: kayaking and canoeing, rowing, water skiing, shikara race, and dragon boat. The event aims to broaden sports opportunities across India and make Khelo India more inclusive. This will be the fifth Khelo India event in 2025 after Winter Games, Para Games, Youth Games, and Beach Games.

Notes:
World Sports Journalists Day (WSJD) is celebrated annually on July 2nd to recognize and honor the contributions of sports journalists. The official theme for World Sports Journalists Day 2025 is “Championing Fair Play: Reporting with Integrity and Impact.” Its objective is to respect the professional integrity and courageous reporting of sports journalists. It also aims to highlight the role of communication media in promoting sports culture. The day acknowledges how journalism helps maintain transparency in sports.

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Kila Raipur Sports Festival, known as Punjab’s Rural Olympics, is held every February in Ludhiana, Punjab. It features traditional rural sports such as bullock cart races, animal races, kabaddi, and Punjabi folk dances. The festival began in 1933 by philanthropist Inder Singh Grewal.

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Jalandhar is called Punjab’s Sports City, famous for manufacturing sports goods. It hosts the Surjit Hockey Stadium and is a key hub in both national and international sports equipment supply. Punjab also leads in Astro turf hockey fields and synthetic athletics tracks in India.

Notes:
Kila Raipur Rural Sports Festival, known as Rural Olympics, is held near Ludhiana, Punjab, every February. Organized by the Grewal Sports Association since 1933, the event features traditional rural games like kabaddi and bullock cart racing, highlighting Punjabi heritage and attracting national and international participants.

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Punjab Sports Department, established 1975, headquartered in Chandigarh, promotes sports and manages policies, facilities, and budgets. It organized the 31st National Games (2001) where Punjab won 163 medals. Gatka, the Sikh martial art, is part of programs.

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Punjab State Sports Council oversees sports infrastructure, allocation of grants, fund management, sports programs, coaching, and evaluation methods in Punjab, supporting sports activities at all administrative levels statewide.

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Punjab State Sports School is in Jalandhar, established in 1961, spread over 10 acres with Olympic-level sports facilities. It is administered by the Punjab State Sports Council, which promotes sports and supports athletes in Punjab through scholarships, pensions, and infrastructural grants.

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Under Punjab Sports Policy 2009, Punjab Yuva Kala Kendra (PYKK) is the key agency for developing sports facilities, supporting rural and urban infrastructure, supplemented by state and district schemes, and aided by municipal and private sector participation.

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Punjab Institute of Sports is situated in Jalandhar. It develops sports infrastructure, promotes local games like circle kabaddi and gatka, organizes competitions, and provides incentives to athletes. Jalandhar is a major sports hub in Punjab, housing several sports academies and training centers.