CHENNAI: In its bid to develop infrastructure at the grassroots level, the sports ministry has upgraded nine more facilities to Khelo India State Centre of Excellence (KISCE) under the Khelo India scheme. The latest centres have been identified in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Chandigarh, Goa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Puducherry, Tripura and Jammu & Kashmir.
The overall number of KISCEs now stands at 24 from across the country. These nine centres made the cut depending on various factors such as past performances and quality of infrastructure among others. Under the scheme, these centres will receive assistance in upgrading equipment, high-performance managers, coaches, sports scientists, technical support etc.
"The government is taking the two-pronged approach of developing grassroots level infrastructure on the one hand and creating facilities for sporting excellence on the other," said Kiren Rijiju, Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports. "The KISCEs will be world-class facilities where the best sporting talent from all over the country will be trained to further India's Olympic dreams," he added.
The centres were selected by each state and Union territory, which were asked to identify the best infrastructure that could be turned into world-class facilities.
The latest KISCEs include:
Andhra Pradesh – Dr YSR Sports School, YSR District, Kadapa
Chandigarh – Hockey Stadium, Sector – 42
Chhattisgarh - Rajya Khel Prashikshan Kendra, Bilaspur
Goa – SAG Sports Complex, Campal, Panaji
Haryana – Motilal Nehru School of Sports, Rai, Sonipat
Himachal Pradesh – Indoor Stadium Luhnu Sports Complex, Bilaspur
Puducherry – Rajiv Gandhi School of Sports, Uppallam
Tripura - Dasarath Dev State Sports Complex, Badharghat, Agartala
Jammu & Kashmir –
i) M.A. Stadium, Fencing Academy, Jammu
ii) J & K Sports Council water Sports Academy, Srinagar