cuttack prime minister narendra modi on saturday launched the firstever khelo india university games at the jawaharlal nehru indoor stadium on saturdayas many as 3400 athletes from 159 universities across the country will vie for top honours across 17 disciplines including rugby which is among the six team eventsthe pm launched the multidisciplinary sporting event through a video conference facilityhe called it a historic moment for indian sportsit marks the next step in the countrys sporting revolution pm modi said in his addressa new history has been made in odisha today this is not only a historic moment in indian sports but also a big step for the future of indian sports he addedpresent on the occasion among others were odisha chief minister naveen patnaik union sports minister kiren rijiju and dharmendra pradhan who holds the petroleum and natural gas portfolio in the union cabinet among othersace sprinter dutee chand who is a student of kiit the host university was also a part of the eventbesides dutee there are other talented athletes like mangalore universitys triple jumper jay shah his teammate long distance runner narendra pratap singh pune universitys long distance runner komal jagadale and acharya nagarjuna universitys sprinter yarraji jyothi who can lift the quality of the competition in track and field sportmodi said the khelo india university games will provide a big platform for young athletes to fulfil their dreamsin the coming days you have the chance to win over 200 gold medals you also have the chance of bettering your performances you have the chance to give new heights to your capabilities he saidyou will not only compete against each other but the most important thing is that you are competing against yourselfyour hard work here will take your your familys and indias dreams forwardlauding the governments initiative the prime minister said the khelo india program has played a vital role in attracting and identifying young sporting talents from across the countrythe khelo india initiative has improved the level of sports and sportsperson in the country it has improved the sporting infrastructure in the country modi saidthe prime minister said it was heartening to see talented youngsters coming out of the khelo india initiative are not from big cities but from small placesthey are from poor background common people from tier 2 tier 3 cities they have generated a new hope for the country modi saidwe are promoting transparency in identification and selection of athletes which has resulted in better performances from our athletes at the international stage