From Our Special Correspondent
New Delhi: Sports Ministry has identified sports facilities in eight states half of them from Northeast to be upgraded to Khelo India State Centre of Excellence keeping an eye on the Olympic games.
In the first leg, the eight states that have been approved for setting up of KISCEs are Odisha, Mizoram, Telangana, Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka, and Kerala. Meanwhile, top sporting facilities have been identified in 6 more states and union territories – Assam, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya and Sikkim – which will be upgraded to Khelo India State Centre of Excellence, an official release from Sports Ministry.
Currently, SAI is undertaking the “Viability Gap Analysis” to identify areas where up-gradation and support are needed in each centre. The identified facilities, to be upgraded with an effort to identify and groom Olympic level talent, will be upgraded at a cost of Rs 95.19 crores. The support will be in the form of infrastructure up-gradation, setting up of sports science centre and a soft component in the form of quality coaches and sports science human resources like Physiotherapists, strength and conditioning expert.
High-quality equipment will also be provided to the players. The academy will also have a High-performance Manager to ensure quality sports science input and performance management.The Sports Ministry is upgrading existing sporting infrastructure in each state and UT, in partnership with the state and UT, and creating KISCEs to create a robust sporting ecosystem in the entire country. Each KISCE will be extended sports-specific support in 14 Olympic sports, of which one state or UT will be given support for a maximum of three sports.
Speaking about the decision to set up the KISCEs, Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju said, “These Khelo India State Center of Excellence is yet another step towards building a robust sports ecosystem on one hand and India’s pursuit of excellence in Olympics, on the other.””These state-of-the-art centres will ensure that athletes proficient in a certain sport can be given the highest level of training and these centres become the best facilities in the country to train athletes in the priority sport for which they have been earmarked.
I am confident this step will help to further India’s effort of becoming one of the top 10 countries in the Olympics in 2028,” he said.
“The setting up of the KISCE will also help to broad-base talent identification since the states and UTs will also identify and develop talent in each sport for which funding is received. As a partnership, the Sports Authority of India will provide financial support in various avenues like sports science back-up, engagement of coaches and support staff, procurement of sports equipment, among other things.”
“The state will be responsible for lodging, boarding, regular maintenance, infrastructure up-gradation and overall management of the centre. Wherever required, SAI will provide technical expertise and assistance, while putting in place a regular monitoring mechanism, to ensure that athletes are trained at par with international standards,” he added.