Natl football camp for special kids

Bhopal, Aug 21 (UNI) Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan today said that the state would take initiatives for imparting sports training to mentally-challenged children.

''The government will encourage such children, training facilities will be made available in football and other sports and special instructors arranged,'' he said while inaugurating a three-day national football training camp organised for such children at the Tatya Tope Stadium by the Department of Sports and Youth Welfare.

Kids from Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, New Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Manipur, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal are among the participants. The best would find berths in the national team, an official release said.

Mr Chouhan hoped that the Indian team would give an outstanding performance at Shanghai's Special Olympics 2007.

''A special campaign is underway for the differently-able persons and 1,000 camps organised over the past year,'' said Social Justice Minister Rampal Singh.

Among those present were Health Minister Ajay Vishnoi and Madhya Pradesh Olympics Association President Mahesh Joshi. Players handed over a torch to the Chief Minister, the release added.

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