Calling Khelo India Beach Games a watershed moment in the country’s sporting history, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the Games added a new chapter by reflecting the transformative power of sports.

“The Beach Games promise to make waves in India’s sporting calendar,” the prime minister said in a message issued on Tuesday by his office to the Games organisers in the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu and the Sports Authority of India.

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The Beach Games, held under the ever-expanding Khelo India umbrella for the first time, were formally declared open by Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Mansukh Mandaviya on the Ghoghla Beach in Diu on Monday.

The KIBG have brought together more than 1,350 athletes from over 30 states and Union Territories is holding six medal sports – soccer, volleyball, sepaktakraw, kabaddi, pencak silat and open water swimming. Also, Mallakhamb and tug-of-war are the two non-medal (demonstration) disciplines.

“In a nation as diverse as ours, sports have always held a unique power that unites cultures, regions and languages. The vibrant energy of sports goes beyond entertainment and has become a transformative force, symbolizing national pride and aspirations of our youth. It is in this context that the Khelo India Beach Games hold a greater significance,” the prime minister said in his message.

“Today, we are not just inaugurating a sports event, we are heralding India’s first Beach sports revolution! I believe that where there are waves, there should be passion, where there is sand, there should be a fire of enthusiasm — and the Khelo India Beach Games have ignited that fire in all our hearts today,” said Mansukh Mandaviya while declaring the Games open.