SAI App helping in assessing children's fitness

Khelo India Mobile App, an application developed by Sports Authority of India, is helping in assessing the fitness levels of school-going children through a battery of tests, and providing insights into which sport they would be most competent in.

The App can be used to take tests like Body Mass Index for fitness assessment, Plate Tapping test to assess co-ordination, Sit and Reach test to assess flexibility, 600MT Run/Walk to assess stamina, 50 metre dash Standing Start to assess speed, Partial Curl Ups to assess abdominal muscular strength and endurance, Plate Tapping test to assess hand-eye co-ordination, Flamingo Balance Test to assess balance and Push Ups to assess endurance.

Flexibility, co-ordination, muscular strength, endurance, stamina are important for youngsters aspiring to take on sport professionally. The tests can be taken by children from ages 5-18 years, with tests prescribed for every age group.

1000 schools and 70,000 students across the country have already taken the tests with the help of their Physical Training Teachers, and the scores of each one of them have been fed into the App, with an effort to identify children with the best scores across the country, who have the potential to take up sports professionally.

Speaking about the App, Meeta Bhandual, principal, Jaypee Public School, said, "It is the first time that CBSE has taken up such a structured and scientific-designed programme in sport. I, as a prinicipal, can see the performance of my students, whether it is a class-wise performance or analyzing the performances of one group of students with another.

"Parents can also check the scores of their wards whenever they want. It is an excellent initiative by the Sports Authority of India, and I am sure it can help identify may future Olympians from a really young age.