Context: In major thrust to indigenous games, Sports Ministry includes Gatka, Kalaripayattu, Thang-Ta and Mallakhamba in Khelo India Youth Games 2021

• India has a rich heritage of indigenous sports, and it is a priority for the Sports Ministry to preserve, promote and popularise these games.
• The four selected games represent different parts of the country.
• Kalaripayattu has its origin from Kerala and has practitioners all over the world.
• Mallakhamba, meanwhile, has been well-known across India and Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra have been the hotspots of this sport.
• Gatka originates from the State of Punjab and this traditional fighting style of the Nihang Sikh Warriors is used both as self-defense as well as a sport.
• Thang-Ta, a Manipur marital art has passed into oblivion in the recent decades, but the sport will get national recognition again with the help of the Khelo India Youth Games 2021.

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1682218#:~:text=The%20Sports%20Ministry%20has%20approved,%2C%20Thang%2DTa%20and%20Mallakhamba.

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