Berhampur: In a major boost to sports infrastructure, at least five new Khelo India Centres (KICs) under a Central scheme will be opened in five districts – Ganjam, Gajapati, Jharsuguda, Nayagarh and Deogarh – in three disciplines, officials said Sunday. While Khelo India Basketball centre will be opened at Government Queen of the Mission High School in Ganjam district, Khelo India Kho-Kho centres will be opened at Government SVT High School and RK Government School in Gajapati and Jharsuguda districts, respectively. The centre for football will be opened at Tileibani PS High School and Narayana Government High School in Deoghar and Nayagarh districts, respectively.
The Sports Authority of India (SAI) has recently informed the state government about the opening of the KICs after the project was approved by the competent authority Thursday. The SAI would be given funds to run the centres. The coach or mentors for the proposed five centres in each discipline will be engaged in the next two months, the officials said. Former champion athletes should be engaged as the coach in each discipline. The talent pool identification would be done by the respective past champion athletes or organisations adhering to the guidelines of the scheme.
Each centre must have strived to have an equal ratio of male to female trainees, the officials said. Berhampur MP Pradeep Kumar Panigrahy expressed his happiness as the government approved two centres of the Khelo India scheme in his parliamentary constituency. “These will help the talented players to hone their talent and compete at the national and international level. They will get an opportunity to make their mark nationwide,” he said. K Ravi Kumar, a Commonwealth Games gold medalist in weightlifting, said the centres would help to build up the athletes from the rural areas in the state by giving proper coaching and good infrastructure facilities. According to the official website of Khelo India, 26 KICs in nine disciplines have been approved for 25 of 30 districts of Odisha, of which six have now started operations.