Tamil Nadu Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin indulges in candid chat with students. Here's how it went

He interacted with the students who would be taking part in the national competitions at the Eklavya Model Residential School
Photo of Udhayanidhi Stalin | Pic: Express
Photo of Udhayanidhi Stalin | Pic: Express

At the Nehru Indoor Stadium, Chennai, on Thursday, December 15, Minister of Youth Welfare and Sports Development, Udhayanidhi Stalin, engaged in a jovial conversation with students from different parts of Tamil Nadu. 

When a girl student asked the minister to make sure that physical education classes are only for games and not other subjects, the teachers and officials cheered. With claps, other students supported the request. An amused Udhayanidhi responded, "So you want to play more! Will discuss this with officials and do the needful,” as reported by The New Indian Express.

Another student from Ooty asked the minister to build the students there a proper playground. He reiterated that he would endeavour to establish mini-sports stadiums in each Assembly segment. One student from a Namakkal Eklavya school asked the minister to set up a boxing ring, while another asked for a permanent structure for his school. The minister promised he would take up both the requests of the students. 

Udhayanidhi interacted with the students from the state who would be taking part in the national competitions at the Eklavya Model Residential School in Andhra Pradesh that is commencing on December 17. He gave them gifts and wished them luck after giving them incentives.

Preparing for competitions 
In Tamil Nadu, there are eight Eklavya Model Residential Schools spread across seven districts, with a total enrollment of 2,606 students. In 2019 and 2020, students from Tamil Nadu participated in the national Ekalavya school student games held in Telangana and Madhya Pradesh, respectively, and won many medals. The national-level competitions could not be held the previous two years due to COVID-19, as reported by The New Indian Express.

The national-level competitions for this year will take place in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, from December 17 to December 22. Up to 4,336 sportspersons from 25 states would take part in these competitions. Among them, 94 boys and 83 girls from Tamil Nadu would compete in these competitions.

The minister spoke with students about the state's efforts to support aspiring sportspeople with coaching and the facilities that are being built for them there. Senior officials including HR&CE Minister PK Sekar Babu, Minister for Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare N Kayalvizhi and others were present at this event. The minister also had in-depth discussions with officials about setting up committees at the state and district levels to oversee these competitions, allocating funds for this and so on in order to organise sports competitions for the Chief Minister's Trophy. 

The minister also asked how the Nehru Indoor Stadium's hydrotherapy swimming pool and other sporting amenities were operating. Senior officers and Secretary for Youth Welfare and Sports Development Atulya Misra participated in the discussions, as stated in a report by The New Indian Express.

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