The Assam government is determined to make the 3rd Khelo India Youth Games, scheduled to start from January 10 here, a grand success with the co-operation of the people of the state.

The Games torch will travel through all the districts before the inaugural ceremony on January 10 here to involve all sections of society.

Member secretary of the state-level Advisory Committee for Students and Youth Welfare, Lakhya Konwar, said the state was heading in the right direction to fulfil the dream of chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal of making Assam the sports capital.

Konwar said they would try their best to make the Games popular among the people of Assam.

The torch relay will start from Guwahati on Sunday and move through all the districts. It will arrive here on the inaugural day.

“We have taken initiatives in the district headquarters to involve all the affiliated bodies of the Assam Olympic Association (AOA) and make it a popular event among the people,” Konwar said here on Friday.

On Sunday, the theme song of the Games featuring Hima Das, Lovlina Borgohain and Vijender Singh, among others, will also be released.

On the current agitation against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019, Konwar said: “We are thankful to the people for understanding the fact that sports can help Assam establish itself as a force in the world map. We hope everybody will continue with their unstinted support to take Assam to newer heights as a sports destination of not only the country but also the world.”

The Games this time will witness more than 6,500 athletes from across the country, vying for 1,500 medals in 20 disciplines with the new addition of lawn bowls and cycling.

The Games will be played in 11 venues across the city and will continue till January 22. The venues will be ready by December 31 and handed over to the Games Technical Conduct Committee.

Arjuna awardee and national table tennis champion Monalisa Baruah Mehta on Friday lauded the Games initiative by the sports ministry.

The former table tennis champion from Assam said the competition was reviving the sporting culture in India.

“The Khelo India Youth Games is a great initiative by the government. They are reviving the sports culture in India by taking the upcoming athletes to a certain level. It’s very good to see the youth receive scholarship schemes. I feel that the players will benefit a lot from this competition,” said Mehta.

The Arjuna awardee added that the athletes in India have all the facilities and, therefore, they should focus only on their sport and work hard.