Taking inspiration from prominent Asian sporting powerhouses such as China and Japan, the Indian govt has decided to establish 10 state-of-the-art Olympic training centres across the nation where future elite athletes will be groomed with the objective of enhancing the country’s medal tally at the Summer Games.
The high-performance training facilities will be established in major Indian cities and will operate under a public-private partnership (PPP) framework. Each specialised centre will be dedicated to one specific sport from the 10 selected disciplines where a maximum of 150 sports persons will be accommodated to prepare for the Olympic Games and other multisport events.
The athletes will be chosen from the Khelo India Youth and University Games – KIYG and KIUG – and the National Games organised by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). The establishment of these training centres is part of the govt’s long-term strategy of producing medal-winning athletes, who can bring glory to the country at the Olympics, with the focus on India’s ambitious bid to host the Games in 2036.
The govt, it's been learnt, is not happy with the country’s underwhelming show at the Paris Games last year where the contingent won only six medals. The authorities desire a robust showing with aspirations of double-digit medal finish.
“Apart from the traditional sports where India has historically excelled, the endeavour will be to cultivate other disciplines where a bagful of medals are up for contest. Accordingly, 10 such sports will be identified, each having its dedicated training centre. International experts, quality support staff and sports science specialists will be engaged to train our athletes,” an official explained.
