Sports in Odisha is reaching for new heights as the Indian sports stars join the state government along with the corporate houses to set up 10 high-performance centers in various sports disciples.
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik was present for the event held at Kalinga Stadium who also unveiled the trophy of Men’s Hockey World Cup. Country’s seven leading industrialists signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to improve the sports culture of the state promising world-class training facilities for the upcoming athletes.
Reliance Industries Group adopted athletics while Badminton was taken over by Dalmia Bharat Group. Weightlifting by Ahluvalia Group, football and swimming by JSW Group, shooting by Aditya Birla Group and hockey by Tata Group.
Former Indian cricket captain Anil Kumble, badminton legend Pullela Gopichand and Olympic medal winner and shooter Gagan Narang also pledged their support to nurture and promote sports in the country.
Sports secretary Vishal Kumar Dev said, “It is a great day not just for the state but for the country as well. By signing these MoUs we have built a framework, which will work towards the sporting education, talent identification at the grass root levels and infrastructural developments at a global level.”
