Coimbatore : Over 25,000 players from rural areas of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry are participating in the 14th Isha Gramotsav, which commenced here on Saturday.

A total of 2,200 teams are participating in different sports such as kabaddi, para olympics and volleyball for men and throwball for women, that are being conducted as the main part of the event.

The gramotsav is being celebrated at various levels such as cluster, divisional, zonal and state, with the finale to be held in Erode on December 9.

Gramotsav is a celebration of village life showcasing the essence of rural Tamil Nadu through an elaborate display of rural games, art, drama, dance and music and highlights the role of sports in rural life by featuring the final rounds of a statewide inter-village sports tournament.

The festival is part of Action for Rural Rejuvenation (ARR), a rural revitalisation programme under the aegis of Isha Foundation. Isha Outreach was awarded with ‘Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar’ and was recognised by the ‘Khelo India’ initiative for reviving the rural sports culture in India.

This year, Rs 42 lakh worth prizes will be given and the winners of volleyball and throwball will be given Rs 5 lakh and Rs 1 lakh, respectively.