Bhubaneswar, Feb 25 (IANS): To promote sports like badminton, athletics, weightlifting and football, the Odisha government launched five high-performance centres at Kalinga Stadium, here on Monday.

The centres dedicated to badminton by Dalmia Bharat and Pullela Gopichand Badminton Foundation; athletics by Reliance Foundation, Athletics Federation of India and International Association of Athletics Federation; weightlifting by KJS Ahluwalia and Tenvic Sports; football by All India Football Federation and Odisha sports development and promotion company; and sports management by the Xavier-Emlyon Business School and KJS Ahluwalia were inaugurated.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik also inaugurated the wall climbing sports and felicitated 162 outstanding sportspersons from the state with cash awards.

"Today is a historic day for sports development in Odisha. We understand how beneficial the opening of these high-performance centres is to a sportsman as well as the nation.

"I am delighted to dedicate these centres to the sports loving people of Odisha. I thank every one of you associated with this initiative and for joining us in the journey of making Odisha- the sports destination of India," said the Chief Minister.