Applying the Dravidian algorithm to sports

In my journey with the Tamil Nadu Champions Basis, I’ve met numerous and galvanizing athletes. However one of many tales which stays with me is that of Manoj’s, a younger para-athlete from a modest household in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. He had a contractual job on the Tamil Nadu Small Industries Company Restricted (TANSI). He had immense expertise, however and not using a platform, it remained within the shadows.

That’s when the Chief Minister, M.Okay. Stalin’s authorities stepped in. On his directions to identify such expertise, we prolonged monetary help to Manoj by the Basis. In the present day, the younger man is profitable worldwide competitions and bringing delight to Tamil Nadu and India. True to our phrase of supporting athletes past the rostrum, he now has a safe authorities job below the three per cent sports activities quota.

In coverage and follow

The ideological fathers of the Dravidian Mannequin of governance envisioned a society during which public assets ought to be accessible to everybody. In sports activities, this implies eradicating the boundaries that forestall younger individuals in rural and concrete areas from accessing amenities and assist. When Mr. Stalin mentioned that our governance should replicate the adage, “Ellarukkum Ellam”, he additionally gave us a street map for sports activities: discover expertise early, construct amenities throughout the State, assist athletes with science, and reward success directly. In sports activities, we’ve got been in a position to translate the Dravidian algorithm into coverage and follow like by no means earlier than in Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadu’s athletes and its sporting ecosystem have recorded exceptional achievements — 34 of India’s 89 Chess Grandmasters and two World Chess Champions. Globally, it has celebrated 4 Paralympic medallists and 12 Olympians on the Paris Video games, together with six in observe and discipline. On the Hangzhou Asian Video games, 46 of Tamil Nadu’s sportspersons contributed to India’s 28 medals, whereas on the Hangzhou Para Asian Video games, 18 of its athletes gained 15 medals. Tamil Nadu’s Khelo Para Video games tally rose to 74 medals in 2025, up from 42 in 2023, whereas within the Nationwide Video games, the medals tally rose from 77 in 2023 to 92 in 2025 — a 20% soar. Between 2016 and 2021, the Sports activities Improvement Authority of Tamil Nadu invested about ₹ 800 crore. Compared, our administration has allotted ₹1,945 crore over the previous 5 years — a 143% enhance.

Since 2021, we’ve got constructed 28 new sports activities complexes, together with multi-sport district centres, Olympic academies, high-altitude coaching amenities, artificial tracks in six cities, international-standard hockey turfs, a velodrome, and fashionable indoor arenas. We upgraded outdated stadiums in Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, and Tiruchi. Below phased programmes, there shall be mini stadia in 75 blocks throughout the State and fashionable gyms to advertise a fitter Tamil Nadu. Almost 60% of the tasks are in tier-II and tier-III cities. The Kalaignar Sports activities Equipment Scheme offers 33 sorts of sports activities tools, together with cricket bats, volleyball nets, kabaddi mats and gymnasium gear to each panchayat and all city areas. Our infrastructure drive additionally consists of para-sports. We’re constructing accessible arenas in 11 districts and including barrier-free options to new stadiums.

We now have revamped athlete assist programmes to make them data-driven, clear, and inclusive. After we took workplace, solely 12 athletes acquired yearly funding by the ELITE scheme. In the present day, 50 high athletes, together with chess prodigies R. Praggnanandhaa and Gukesh, obtain ₹30 lakh a yr for coaching and competitors publicity. Below the Mission Worldwide Medal Scheme, the variety of supported athletes has risen from 48 to 125, with every receiving ₹12 lakh yearly to pursue worldwide qualification. The Champions Improvement Scheme nurtures 200 under-20 abilities with ₹4 lakh yearly scholarships.

A system of accountability

A high-level committee of Olympians and sports activities scientists oversees athlete choice, with clear efficiency requirements shared upfront. Para-athletes additionally obtain the identical degree of assist and incentives. Since 2021, 4,617 sportspersons have been awarded money incentives value ₹152 crore, which is 4 occasions the ₹38 crore given over the earlier decade. Incentives for Olympic and Paralympic medal winners have been elevated to ₹3 crore for gold, ₹2 crore for silver, and ₹1 crore for bronze, with funds made after the occasion. We launched the Chief Minister’s Trophy video games throughout all districts, together with e-sports and conventional disciplines resembling silambam. Registrations have grown from 4.57 lakh in 2023 to 16.28 lakh in 2025, supported by a devoted Video games Administration System that tracks each athlete’s profile. Annually, we establish about 4,000 children by competitions and place them in SDAT sports activities hostels, Centres of Excellence, and STAR academies. Clear on-line registrations and AI-based expertise scouting be certain that no deserving athlete is ignored due to background or location.

Below our regime, the three% sports activities quota for presidency jobs, a lifeline for athletes, has been revitalised. Whereas solely three athletes secured jobs below the earlier authorities, we’ve got facilitated employment for 109 sportspersons.

Communities that have been as soon as ignored of mainstream sports activities are actually turning into a part of Tamil Nadu’s success story. On the high-performance tennis facility in Nungambakkam, rural girls have gained new alternatives to coach and compete. Thus, in 2023, Tamil Nadu’s girls captured all 4 tennis gold medals on the Khelo India Video games.

Internet hosting main competitions positions Tamil Nadu as a hub of sports activities tourism. In 2022, Chennai grew to become the primary Indian metropolis to host the celebrated forty fourth Chess Olympiad. The event drew 188 groups from 186 nations, and was organised on a finances of about ₹110 crore. Since then, we’ve got hosted the Squash World Cup, the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy, the World Surf League, the Asian Junior Athletics Championships, WTA and ATP tennis occasions, and India’s first Method-4 avenue evening race.

Wanting forward

We now have additionally arrange the Tamil Nadu Centre for Sports activities Science, invested in digital platforms for athlete administration, and educated coaches in areas resembling biomechanics, diet and psychology. Within the subsequent part, we are going to construct a International Sports activities Metropolis in Chennai, develop our sports activities science amenities, and strengthen our para-sports programmes.

Sports activities are usually not merely about video games; they’re additionally the devices of social engineering. In a State that gave rise to the rationalist and social justice actions, it is just becoming that we create a Dravidian Mannequin for sports activities. Our success is measured not solely in medals but in addition within the widening smiles of youngsters from each nook of Tamil Nadu.

Udhayanidhi Stalin is the Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu

Printed – November 10, 2025 12:08 am IST