Sports Conclave bringing together key stakeholders
CHENNAI: The second edition of the two-day Tamil Nadu Sports Conclave (TAScon 2.0) involved sharing of ideas to develop and maintain sporting talents and infrastructure in the state. The conclave was launched on Tuesday (December 16) by Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Udhayanidhi Stalin.
It brought together key stakeholders like former players, coaches and officials who are in the centre of the know in the state's sport ecosystem.
Udhayanidhi announced that "Mini Stadiums" in all constituencies of the state will be constructed, each at a cost of Rs 3 crore.
"After our government assumed office in 2021, Tamil Nadu has been hosting several national and international events. Recently, we have hosted the Men’s Junior Hockey World Cup in Chennai and Madurai. Likewise, we conducted the SDAT Squash World Cup in Chennai, where India emerged as the champion," he pointed out.
Former Olympian and ace table tennis player Sharath Kamal insisted that facilities had improved from the time he started playing table tennis. He added that the current facilities were on par with international standards.
“For my first Olympic Games in 2004, the place where I trained had three tables in a small hall. The kind of infrastructure that we had, you wouldn’t even call it a sporting facility. And when we went into international tournaments and saw those big halls with multiple tables, we had lost our matches even before the tournament started, just by seeing the competition and training halls. Our confidence levels were so low because we felt like we didn’t belong there.
“Now, in 2025, it’s 20,000 sq.ft field of play with wooden flooring and a high ceiling at the High Performance Table Tennis Centre in the Tamil Nadu Physical Education and Sports University (TNPESU). And that’s the kind of conditions we would be playing in at the Olympic Games too. Once we start training there, we are on par with the international level. So, Indian sport has come a very long way. Not just in terms of infrastructure, the technical know-how, and sports science, but I think there is a mentality shift - from looking at sports as a co-curricular activity or a hobby to treating it as a profession,” said Sharath.
Financial Assistance
Financial incentive for athletes is a big boon. In every possible way, most of the athletes have their equipments, travel covered under various governmental programs.
"We are providing financial assistance to players through the Tamil Nadu champions foundation even before they are participating in major events. We also encourage them with high cash incentives after they win the medals. Last year, we gave more than 100 jobs to the sports persons in the state. This year as well, our Chief Minister had given a target of minimum 100 athletes including 25 para-athletes to be given government jobs." added Udhayanidhi.
Building strong base from CM's trophy
Atulya Misra, Additional Chief Secretary of Youth Welfare and Sports, said that the government intended to widen access, build a strong talent pipeline, and create clear pathways from participation to high performance for athletes.
"There was a desire that we have to create a strong base by which a large number of youngsters are able to participate and excel in sports. So, that was the idea behind CM’s Trophy. For the first edition we got around four lakh applications. For the latest edition (third), we received around 17 lakh applications. So, you can imagine what kind of change has happened. We bring around 30,000 people across 36 disciplines to Chennai," Misra said.
Although well-performing children are put into academies or into programs like the Champions Development Scheme (CDS) and Mission International Medals Scheme (MIMS), Misra felt that getting children from block and village levels is a work in progress.
"For that, we are starting village-level youth festivals. We are making sure that every village has a playground. We have provided around 40,000 sports kits to village panchayats and wards. So, an ecosystem is being established for discovering and nurturing talent, and creating a new generation of sportspersons.