New Delhi, May 31 (IANS): The Sports Authority of India (SAI) is set to launch Khelo India e-Pathshala in association with National Sports Federations on June 1.

The programme is "India's first-ever national-level open online coaching and education programme for grassroot-level athletes," according to a statement from SAI.

"In its second phase, scheduled to start soon, the programme will reach out to development-level athletes as well," it said.

"The massive online session is being launched with the aim of educating young athletes who have not been able to train in their academies in the past few weeks due to the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic.

"Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju and Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda will inaugurate the programme through a webinar on June 1 at 9 a.m., a session that will be attended by archers, archery coaches and experts of the discipline."

The programme, SAI says, will cover 21 sporting disciplines. "The e-learning programme will see eminent athletes demonstrating technical skills and speaking to young athletes about techniques to improve their game. The programme will also be lead by a committee of eminent coaches and observed by a committee of Sports Scientist, High-Performance Directors and High-Performance Managers, who will give their on-ground feedback about the course," it further stated.