Chhattisgarh Olympics: Here's How This Event Promotes Rural Women Participation & Traditional State Sports

The multi-sport event, Chhattisgarh Olympics, was inaugurated on October 6 by Chief Minister Bhupesh Bhagel at Balbir Singh Juneja Indoor Stadium, Rajpur. The event is scheduled to take place statewide till January 6, 2023, with the aim to revive traditional games- langdi, pitthul, bati, and bhaura, among others.

As many as 14 traditional games have been added to the individual and team categories of separate age groups, reported The Economic Times. In the press note, the government said, "Chhattisgarh is known for its rich and unique culture and tradition. However, as a modern civilisation grows, people gradually forget their old culture and traditions."

It added, "Soon after taking charge as Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, Bhupesh Baghel started working on an action plan to promote the state's glorious culture and tradition. Now, Baghel has undertaken a special initiative to revive one of the most delightful parts of our age-old tradition--traditional games--in a great way by organising the Chhattisgarhiya Olympics."

Benefits From Traditional Games

According to officials, the games added to the tournament are not only entertaining but also help keep people mentally and physically healthy. Notably, there has been a terrific response for participation from rural areas (all age groups and gender).

The games will be conducted in a team and single categories. The sport falling under a single category are gedi race, billas, fugdi, bhaura and long race. At the same time, games under team categories are pitthul, gilli-danda, langdi-race, sankhali, Kabaddi and kho-kho. As the event has already commenced, people find it entertaining and exciting.

According to the management committee, the Olympics is organised at six levels: village, zonal, block, district, divisional and state. The effort ensures that everyone gets fair opportunities to participate in the competition. Apart from levels, there are also different age categories to provide equal competition- 18 years and below, 18 to 40 years, and above 40 years.

As no national sports are included in the competition, the state government said that the aim is to promote local culture through state Olympics. A rule has also been issued and has been sent to each district of the state.

Increasing Rural Women Participation

Across all the games, the state government has received overwhelming participation requests from all age groups and gender, especially women. In events like Kabaddi, many women have come forward in a team to participate in the event. A video shared by IAS Awanish Sharan has surfaced across social media platforms. In the video, women are seen playing the game in traditional outfits.

हम किसी से कम हैं क्या !!!

छत्तीसगढ़िया ओलंपिक में महिला कबड्डी. pic.twitter.com/06QyhY4ojp

— Awanish Sharan (@AwanishSharan) October 7, 2022

In another video posted by the handle of Chief Minister's Office (CMO) Chhattisgarh, a woman was seen flinging the spinning top. In the video, the CMO mentioned, "Even age could not stop the enthusiasm. The 75-year-old grandmother who participated in Chhattisgarhiya Olympics surprised everyone by driving a bumblebee. An example of liveliness is shown in the village of Alda."

उम्र भी नहीं रोक सका उत्साह

छत्तीसगढ़िया ओलंपिक में शामिल हुई 75 वर्षीय दादी ने भौंरा चला कर सबको किया अचंभित।@BalodaBazarDist के अल्दा गाँव में दिखा जीवंतता का उदाहरण।#CGOlympics2022 #KhelboChhattisgarh pic.twitter.com/hftMlqkzey

— CMO Chhattisgarh (@ChhattisgarhCMO) October 10, 2022

Similar videos of women are taking rounds across social media platforms, where they can be seen playing traditional sports with utmost perfection and enthusiasm. The state government's initiative will further boost local culture at the grassroots level and drive change among youth.

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