About 8,000 sportspersons from across the State are set to participate in the Dasara sports activities, to be held in the city from October 1 to 9. This includes adventure sports.
There will be 22 major sporting events held across the city. Internationally acclaimed athletes Ashwini Ponappa, badminton player, and Deepa Malik, who won a silver medal at the Rio Paralympics, will grace the inaugural ceremony. Former speedsters Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad are scheduled to inaugurate the Dasara half-marathon.
Disclosing the details to reporters on Tuesday, K. Suresh, secretary of the sports sub-committee and assistant director, Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports, said the 22 events include athletics, gymnastics, volleyball, hockey, kho-kho, badminton, basketball, tennis, table tennis, football, ball badminton, throwball, swimming, chess, half-marathon, and cycling.
The formal inauguration will be done by Ms. Ponnappa and Ms. Malik at 4 p.m. at the main venue — Chamundi Vihar Stadium. The Dasara half-marathon will will be flagged off at 6.30 a.m. from Chamundi Vihar stadium on October 2. All track and field events will conclude by October 4. The cyclothon will be held on October 9.
Mr. Suresh said they have made adequate accommodation arrangements for athletes, with 15 choultries booked to house them. The valedictory function will be held on October 4 at 3.30 p.m. at Chamundi Vihar Stadium.
Adventure sports
First introduced during the Dasara festivities about 10 years ago, the adventure sports will be held at Varuna lake on the outskirts of Mysuru and at the KRS backwaters.
Though there was scope to increase the ambit of adventure sports by including rock climbing, bungee jumping, parasailing, etc., the authorities are confining things to water sports such as jet skiing, speedboat riding, banana boat riding, and rappelling, which will be conducted by the General Thimayya National Adventure Academy.
