Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, who is also incharge of the Youth Welfare and Sports Development Department, on Tuesday, July 22, presented certificates to 5,788 school students from government, government-aided, and private institutions who had won medals in various sports competitions held during the 2024-2025 academic year.

According to a press release, the students bagged 126 medals at the international level, 917 at the national level and 4,745 at the state level. At the event, Udhayanidhi also released a resource book for Physical Education teachers, aimed at promoting students' overall well-being, stated a report by The New Indian Express.

The state government conducts 26 types of sports competitions annually at the block, district, and state levels, across three age categories: under-14, under-17, and under-19. In addition, students from Tamil Nadu also participate and win medals in national-level competitions organised by the School Games Federation of India (SGFI).

Speaking at the event, Udhayanidhi encouraged students to actively pursue sports stating that it will help them to improve qualities like cooperation, teamwork, confidence, friendship, strategic thinking, planning and execution. He also said that the students should set aside a particular time for sports on a daily basis as it is the effort they put in that matters, not just winning, according to the report by The New Indian Express.

He also appealed to teachers to stop using the Physical Training (PT) period for academic classes, emphasising that sports play a vital role in the overall development of students. He also urged students to make use of the Tamil Nadu Champions Foundation, which provides support to sports persons participating in competitions outside the state and abroad.