Jwala Gutta calls revamped Khelo India Scheme a gamechanger for Indian sports

Badminton star Jwala Gutta said the revamped Khelo India Scheme could transform Indian sports by strengthening grassroots development and sustainability. Officials highlighted increased funding, expanded athlete support and Telangana’s growing network of Khelo India Centres during a media briefing in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: World Championship bronze medallist and one of India’s finest-ever women’s doubles badminton players, Jwala Gutta, said the revamped Khelo India Scheme has the potential to transform the sporting landscape, calling it a “gamechanger” that was “long overdue”.

“I am a government product myself and without its support, I would not have achieved whatever I have as a player. In its new avatar, the Khelo India Scheme looks extremely promising. With its thrust on grassroots development and sustainability, parents will feel very secure sending their children to pursue sport,” Jwala said.

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“The government has always been serious about boosting sports, but this will have a far-reaching impact and the reach will be enormous. I am happy to be associated with the scheme,” she added.

Jwala was speaking to the media here on Friday in the presence of Dr A. Sonibala Devi, VC & MD of SATG; Vishnu Sudhakaran, Regional Director of SAI (Bengaluru); and S. Hima Bindu, SAI Deputy Director (Delhi).

Hima Bindu explained the key pillars of the scheme and how it would impact a state like Telangana. The 2026–31 scheme provides for an eight-fold increase in the previous outlay to ₹29,054 crore and aims at a 10-fold increase in the number of athletes supported.

Development of sports in Telangana is already a priority for the Union Sports Ministry. A total of 33 Khelo India Centres have been notified in Telangana, where over 601 athletes are being trained by Past Champion Athletes (PCAs). One Khelo India State Centre of Excellence is already operational in Medchal-Malkajgiri, supporting 254 athletes (152 male and 102 female) in disciplines including rowing, weightlifting and fencing.

“This is extremely advantageous for a state like Telangana. The scheme will help in legacy planning, and its vision will have far-reaching consequences on the way a state approaches sport as a subject. Since sports will be entwined with education policy, we should see much better results,” said Dr Sonibala Devi.

Sudhakaran said the finer details of the Khelo India Scheme were still being worked out.

“The operational guidelines will elaborate on how the scheme will work and how states will embrace the key ingredients. Earlier, we used to have a ‘focused’ approach with limited budgets. But this Khelo India Scheme is the result of extensive discussions with stakeholders, and it is a win-win situation for all. The budgets have been earmarked in a way that will help boost the sports movement and the Khelo Bharat Niti, under which Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to see sports reaching the masses,” he said.