The state government has inked pacts with corporate houses to set up 10 high performance centres in various sport disciplines.
The multipronged strategy adopted by the state government in the last 20 years has put Odisha into a position of being sporting power. From imparting sports education to physical training and setting up of sport excellence centers, the Odisha government, led by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, has created an environment for the growth of sports infrastructure and nurturing sporting talent in the state.
In continuation with its efforts, the state government has inked pacts with corporate houses to set up 10 High Performance Centers in various sport disciplines. The Centers to be set up include athletics by the Reliance Industries Group, football and swimming by the JSW Group, badminton by the Dalmia Bharat Group, weightlifting by the Ahluwalia Group, shooting by the Aditya Birla Group and hockey by the Tata Group.
Besides, the state government has also signed an MoU with the Xavier-Emlyon Business School to set up a high performance centre for sports management. Similarly, Rungta Mines Ltd and Abhinav Futuristic Pvt Ltd will set up an advanced medical rehabilitation centre in the state.
“The signing of these MoUs has created a long-lasting partnership, which will result in producing sportspersons of world standards. However, this partnership is more than just giving grants and funds; it will focus on extending the outreach of every sport in India,” an official of the sports and youth affairs department said.
Former India cricket team captain Anil Kumble, Indian shuttler and coach Pullela Gopichand and shooter Gagan Narang were also present during the event.
“The Odisha government is promoting sports in a great way. I believe Odisha has a lot of talent and initiatives like these will only help,” Gopichand said during the event. Sports Secretary Vishal Kumar Dev said that the move would help in talent scouting and nurturing of players at the grassroots revel. “It is great day not just for the state, but for the country as well. This move was long overdue in order to fully develop the quality of sport and sportsmen in the country. By signing these MoUs, we have built a framework, which will work towards sporting education, talent identification at the grassroots levels and infrastructural development at a global level,” Dev said.
Apart from this, the Odisha government is also successfully running a programme for getting the most marginalised and oppressed groups to the fore in the sports arena.
The Odisha Sports Hostel programme, started in 1985 is an elaborate scouting programme that reaches out to students between ages 10 to 14 in schools across the state. The selected students are sent to one of 16 hostels, across 15 districts, depending on the sport and their location. The one in Bhubaneswar is the most well-developed and elite of the lot, housing the best. And students often come from the poorest families. “We provide coaching in 11 sports, six of which are classified as ‘priority’ sports—athletics, hockey, archery, football, weightlifting and badminton,” an official said.
“Each priority sport has a three-tier structure—beginner, mid-level and senior, to ensure a focused approach,” the official added. The government recognises that sports must come from the “grassroots”, so the scouting programme starts at the gram panchayat level. Today, Odisha has 314 “rural stadiums”—that’s an impressive average of more than 10 a district.
These rural stadia, called “mini stadiums”, are little more than gated and walled spaces with trimmed grass, bare-bones seating and a sparse changing room, but they are yet far more than what villagers have seen. The government has also started Tribal Sports meets to encourage the talent available among the tribal youth. The Biju Yuva Vahini, a scheme on volunteerism, is primarily focused on actively engaging with the youth in every village and ward of the state. Sports equipment is given to these youth clubs and competitions are conducted right from the panchayat level to the district level.