Bhubaneswar, Jul 18 (PTI) Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday inaugurated two new facilities – the Gymnastics High Performance Centre and the new Hockey High Performance Centre – at the Kalinga Stadium here.
The Gymnastics High Performance Centre is a joint initiative with Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel (AM/NS) India while the Hockey High Performance Centre is set up in partnership with Tata Steel and Tata Trusts.
On the occasion, the chief minister presented a cheque of Rs 10 lakh to Odia gymnasts Rakesh Patra and Tapan Mohanty each for qualifying for the upcoming Asian Games 2023.
“Odisha follows a partnership model for sporting excellence. With the inauguration of the new Hockey High Performance Centre and the Gymnastic High Performance Centre, Odisha’s sporting ecosystem has become even more robust, enhancing athletes’ abilities to compete and shine in both national and international competitions,” Patnaik said.
He said that these new centres will play a pivotal role in discovering untapped talents and nurturing potential medal-winning athletes.
Patnaik thanked Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel India and the Tatas for partnering with the state government in developing the facilities.
“These will help nurture talent and contribute to producing elite players for the national teams,” he said.
The Odisha AM/NS India Gymnastics High Performance Centre, equipped with advanced equipment and facilities, has been set up to promote gymnastics in India and transform Odisha into a national centre for gymnastics excellence, an official said.
The inaugurated complex of the Odisha Naval Tata Hockey High Performance Centre is a residential facility for boy and girl cadets with classroom, gymnasium, kitchen and dining, physiotherapy room and other multipurpose room, all housed under one roof with a practice pitch alongside.
Since 2019, Odisha has emerged to be a hub of high performance centres in the country.
So far, Odisha has high performance centres for shooting, hockey, badminton, weightlifting, athletics, sports science, swimming, football, gymnastics and a centre of excellence in sports management.
The chief minister also announced the strengthening of the partnership with Tata Group and starting of new HPCs in Archery and Sport Climbing.
Source: PTI News
