New Delhi, Sep 16 (IANS): The Sports Ministry has announced that sports facilities in eight states will be upgraded to Khelo India State Centre of Excellence (KISCE) at a cost of Rs 95.19 crore.
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, according to a SAI release.
The support will be in the form of infrastructure upgradation, setting up of sports science centre and also soft component in the form of quality coaches and sports science human resources, 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 union territory and creating KISCEs with the aim 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 Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju said, "These Khelo India State Centre 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."
Meanwhile, top sporting facilities have been identified in six more states and union territories -- Assam, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya and Sikkim -- which will be upgraded to KISCE. Currently, the Sports Authority of India is undertaking the "Viability Gap Analysis" to identify areas where upgradation and support is needed in each centre.