Bhubaneswar:SPORT IT 2020, the first ever sports and innovation festival of India, was inaugurated by Sports and Youth Services Minister Tusharkanti Behera at Kalinga Stadium here on Saturday.
Hockey legend and Chairman of Hockey Promotion Council Dilip Tirkey, Hockey India CEO Elena Norman and XEBS Chairman Ashley Fernandes, announced the festival open.
The event is being organized by Xavier Emlyon Business School (XEBS) in collaboration with Sports and Youth Services Department.
More than 1,200 students from various schools and colleges including 25 differently-abled children were present. The festival aims to create an inclusive platform to celebrate sports innovation and entrepreneurship and also involve sportspersons, sports startups, high performance centres as well as students in a significant way.
Held under the auspices of XEBS-Ahluwalia Centre of Excellence for Sports Management, a unique collaboration between Xavier University, Bhubaneswar, Emlyon Business School, France, Department of Sports and Youth Services, Government of Odisha and KJS Ahluwalia Group, it is an Indo-French collaboration and first of its kind in the country.
As many as 12 start-ups in the fields of sports technology, nutrition, flow monitoring, site management, virtual reality and e-games are participating in the festival. The Emlyon Business School, France, has announced a cash award of Rs. one lakh for the best start-up, which would be selected by a team of investors.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will be the chief guest at the valedictory ceremony on the concluding day on Sunday.
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