The 15th edition of Isha Gramotsavam – India’s Biggest Rural Sports Festival, is set to commence in Coimbatore on August 12th. Featuring a pool of prize money exceeding 56 lakhs, victorious teams stand a chance to win prizes ranging from Rs 2 lakhs to Rs 5 lakhs.

Isha Gramotsavam is unique in its concept as professional players are not allowed to compete, encouraging rural folks to embrace the joy of involvement and zest of playing sports.

Addressing a press conference today at Coimbatore Press Club, Swami Nakuja, Field Coordinator of Isha Gramotsavam, explained, “Conducted in all the South Indian states, Isha Gramotsavam promises to rejuvenate the spirit of rural India. We anticipate the participation of 60,000 athletes from 25,000 villages to compete in the festival.”

“In Coimbatore, we expect more than 250 teams from 150 Gram Panchayats and over 2,600 people to participate. Among these, 120 teams will compete in Men’s Volleyball, 60 in Women’s Throwball, 60 in Men’s Kabaddi, and 15 in Women’s Kabaddi,” he shared.

Cluster-level events in Coimbatore are scheduled in Thondamuthur, Sulur, Karadimadai, and Pollachi. Volleyball and Throwball matches are scheduled to take place on August 12th and August 13th, while the Kabaddi matches are lined up on August 26th and August 27th.

The winning teams will advance to compete at the divisional level following which the finals will be conducted on September 23rd in front of the iconic 112-feet Adiyogi at Isha Yoga Centre, Coimbatore. Sadhguru, Founder-Isha Foundation, and other prominent personalities will grace the occasion.

Winning teams are set to receive substantial rewards: Rs 5 lakhs for Men’s Volleyball, 2 lakhs for Women’s Throwball, and Rs 2 lakhs for Women’s Kabaddi, with Men’s Kabaddi to win Rs 5 lakhs. Moreover, Isha Gramotsavam will feature traditional sports competitions, encouraging participation from the general audience otherwise not part of any teams.

The past editions of Isha Gramotsavam have witnessed 8,412 teams, comprising 1,00,167 players participating in Isha Gramotsavam. Isha Outreach has been recognized as National Sports Promotion Organization ( NSPO ) by the Ministry of Sports & Youth Affairs. In the year 2018, Isha Outreach received the “Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar” award from the Hon’ble President of India for Sports Development. Sports celebrities like Sachin Tendulkar, Olympic medallist Rajavardhan Singh Rathore and Karnam Malleshwari have earlier participated as special guests in the finals of the sports festival. Mithali Raj, PV Sindhu, Virender Sehwag, and Shikhar Dhawan have voiced support for Isha Gramotsavam.

Teams who want to participate can register at https://isha.co/gramotsavam-tamil by August 10.