The Karnataka Mini Olympic Games, a week-long multi-sport event featuring 18 disciplines, will get under way at various venues in the city from Feb.3.

The Mini Olympics — jointly conducted by the Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports, Govt. of Karnataka; the Sports Authority of Karnataka (SAK); and the Karnataka Olympic Association (KOA) — was the first event of its sort in the country, stated K.S. Eshwarappa, Minister for Youth Empowerment and Sports, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, here on Monday.

A total of 4000 athletes, all in the U-14 age-group, are expected to gather in the city for the Mini Olympics. The 18 disciplines are: athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, fencing, football, gymnastics, handball, hockey, judo, kho-kho, kabaddi, lawn tennis, netball, swimming, table tennis, taekwon-do, a                               nd volleyball.

“The top eight athletes in each category in each event have been selected to participate in the Mini Olympics by the respective State Associations,” said Karnataka Olympic Association (KOA) President K. Govindaraju.

The gymnastics events will take place at the Gopalan Sports Centre in Hoodi; handball, netball and kho-kho at the National Youth Centre in Vidyanagar; swimming at the Basavanagudi Aquatic Centre; hockey at the Hockey Stadium in Shanthinagar; and tennis at the Mahila Seva Samaja courts. The remaining events will all be held at Sree Kanteerava indoor and outdoor stadiums.

“The best performers in each event will be considered for admission to our sports hostels,” stated K.P. Purushothama, Vice-Chairman, Sports Authority of Karnataka (SAK).

The Mini Olympics will be inaugurated by the Chief Minister, B.S. Yediyurappa, at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Feb.3.