Khele Sanand Sports Utsav wraps up after 18 days of grassroots sporting action
Sathiyan Gnanasekaran celebrates grassroots talent at Khele Sanand Sports Utsav
Pawan Maan Singh applauds young athletes at Khele Sanand finale
- Bilkul Online
- Sanand | 08 October 2026
The Vijayi Bharat Foundation’s (VBF) Khele Sanand Sports Utsav 2026 concluded at Sanskardham after an 18-day sporting initiative that brought together more than 45,000 young athletes from 150+ schools across all 105 villages of Sanand Taluka.
Launched on September 17, the initiative focused on identifying sporting talent at an early age through scientific evaluation, while creating a pathway for grassroots athletes to progress towards higher levels of competition, including the Olympic stage.
The closing ceremony was attended by Arjuna Awardee and table tennis player Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, MMA fighter Pawan Maan Singh, cricketer Vedant Trivedi, and VBF directors Jalaj Dani, Dhanraj Nathwani and Durgesh Agarwal. The event also celebrated the athletes, schools and communities that participated in the sporting movement.
The Sports Utsav featured competitions across 23 events in boys’ and girls’ categories, with 336 medals awarded across gold, silver and bronze categories. The closing-day programme included athletics, cycling, softball, javelin and tug-of-war finals across different age groups.
The event also saw the launch of Veer and Garvi, the mascots of Khele Sanand, symbolising the initiative’s focus on bringing children and communities together through sport.
A key feature of the initiative was its large-scale talent identification programme, in which coaches, scouts and sports experts assessed athletes through sport-specific drills, physical tests and performance parameters. Statistical data models and predictive analytics were also used to support the assessment process.
The Khele Sanand Sports Utsav is part of VBF’s broader effort to strengthen grassroots sports by creating structured opportunities for children before they reach established sporting centres.
Khele Sanand was launched in 2023 as a grassroots sports development initiative covering Kabaddi, Kho-Kho, Athletics, Volleyball and other sports, with a focus on training, competitions, talent identification and community participation.
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