Wish Khelo India was around during my time, says Rachita Mistry

Rachita Mistry, the 1998 Asian Championships gold medalist from Rourkela in Odisha, who has been based in Mumbai for the past 24 years, rued the lack of such initiatives during her time

Former India sprinter Rachita Mistry didn't hold back the hard talk yesterday at the announcement of the second Khelo India Youth Games to be conducted at Balewadi Sports Complex, Pune from January 9 to 20. The announcement was made by Vinod Tawde, State Minister for Sports and Youth Welfare.

Mistry, the 1998 Asian Championships gold medalist from Rourkela in Odisha, who has been based in Mumbai for the past 24 years, rued the lack of such initiatives during her time. "Such an initiative would have helped us a lot, but let's not dwell on the past. These games will make a lot of difference for the future of sport in India. It's a prime event. All athletes look forward to it," said Mistry, 44, who broke PT Usha's 100m national record of 11.39 seconds with a personal best of 11.26s in 2001.

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