Union Minister of Sports & Youth Affairs Kiren Rijiju virtually inaugurated eight Khelo India State Centres of Excellence (KISCEs) across India in the presence of distinguished State Ministers todayday. The the States include: Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Kerala, Telangana, Nagaland, Karnataka and Odisha.

Rijiju and Odisha Sports & Youth Services Minister Tusharkanti Behera jointly unveiled the virtual foundation stone of the Odisha State Centre of Excellence at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar. The KISCE, Odisha has total area of 66 acres and will focus on three disciplines: Hockey, Weightlifting and Athletics.

Odisha State Sports Department Secretary Vishal Kumar Dev and Director R Vineel Krishna were also present from Odisha during the event along with international athlete Purnima Hembram.

“This is a very important day for sports in India and it is a very important beginning to develop sports culture and excellence in the country. The Khelo India State Centres of Excellence are being started in addition to the National Centres of Excellence,” Rijiju said on the occasion.

The Union Minister reiterated the vision is to see India in top 10 in the Los Angeles Olympics 2028. "The Central and State govt has to work together and we will provide all necessary financial assistance so they develop with proper infrastructure and manpower, sports science, high quality training and so on. We cannot be satisfied with only 1-2 medals, we have to be in top 10 in 2028 Olympics,” Rijiju added.

Vishal Dev mentioned that the State will continue supporting the vision of the Govt of India to develop sports. “I am deeply humbled by the honour given to us by the Government of India to make the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar a Khelo India State Centre of Excellence. I am also hopeful our young athletes and coaches will benefit from these hi-tech and high performance facilities. The benefits will trickle down to the grassroots and this will ultimately fire imagination of various sportspersons,” he said.

With a vision to make India one of the top 10 countries in 2028 Olympics, the Khelo India State Centres of Excellence will ensure that athletes proficient in a certain sport can be given the world-class specialised training and these centers become the best facilities in the country to train athletes in the priority sport for which they have been earmarked.

The support to the centers will be in the form of infrastructure upgradation, setting up of sports science centres and also soft component in the form of quality coaches and sports science human resources like physiotherapists, strength & conditioning experts and so on.

The Centres will also have High performance Manager to ensure quality of sports science input and performance management. 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.
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PHOTO: Odisha Sports Secretary Vishal Dev and international athlete Purnima Hembram at the launch of the Khelo India State Centre of Excellence, Odisha in Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar on 22 December, 2020.