New Delhi, Sept 2: Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched the Fit India Quiz, which is the first-ever quiz on fitness and sports introduced in India. Tokyo Olympics medalists Neeraj Chopra and PV Sindhu virtually joined the event. A few school students also took part in an impromptu quiz to launch the said initiative.
The nationwide quiz is aimed at creating awareness about fitness and sports among school-going children, while giving them a chance to compete on a national platform and an opportunity to win a total cash prize of more than Rs 3 crore for their schools. It should be noted that the quiz is part of the central government's 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' initiative to celebrate 75 years of India's Independence and is designed to not just bring students from all states onto one platform, but also to involve them in a competition of mental skill and physical fitness.
Speaking about the Fit India Quiz, Thakur said, "Mental fitness is equally important to physical fitness. The Fit India Quiz will inculcate mental alertness at a very early age and the quiz is a perfect way to simultaneously enhance sports knowledge. India has a vast sporting history, along with our success at the Olympics; we'll add momentum to the goal of building a sports culture in the country with the school students as its champions."
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"A sense of competitiveness also builds team character and team spirit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emphasised holistic education and the importance of sports in our lives. His interaction with children has also built a stress-free environment for students to learn and grow; the Fit India Quiz is aimed in this direction," he added.
Speaking on the occasion Dharmendra Pradhan said that there is a strong interconnection between fitness and education. New Education Policy (NEP)-2020 gives special attention to sports-integrated learning for students to adopt fitness as a lifelong attitude as envisaged in the Fit India Movement. Pradhan stated that the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt normal routines and the relevance of the Fit India Movement has increased manifold.
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He said that Fit India Quiz will provide a national platform to students to showcase their knowledge about fitness & sports, create awareness about India's rich sporting history, including indigenous sports, our sports heroes, and how traditional Indian lifestyle activities hold the key to a Fit Life for all.
To participate in the quiz, the schools have will have to register on the link provided on the Fit India website between 1st September to 30th September 2021 and nominate their students who will take part in the preliminary round of the Quiz at the end of October.
The winners of the Preliminary Round will then take part in the State Round in the month of December and the winners of the state round will then go on to participate at the National level in January - February 2022. The final round of the Quiz will be aired on Star Sports.