Rourkela: Rourkela will be getting the first velodrome in Odisha, Minister for Labour and ESI, Sarada Nayak stated recently.
The construction of the velodrome is in the final stages of approval, Nayak had said.The minister gave the information while attending the 26th Vedvyas Sangeet Nrutotsav-2023 in this city. He said that the construction of the velodrome is being looked into personally by chairman 5T and Nabin Odisha, VK Pandian.
“The need for a velodrome here was conveyed to the 5T chairman because there is huge pool of cycling talents available in Sundargarh district. After hearing to each and every point in detail, he has agreed for the construction of a velodrome here,” Nayak said.
“If everything goes according to plan we will soon have an official announcement on this matter. Rourkela is very close to CM Naveen Patnaik’s heart. We have got a world class hockey stadium and now we will also have a velodrome,” Nayak added.
A velodrome is a cycling track with steeply banked curves. It is built in such a manner that it can host all types of cycle races.
Meanwhile, former international cyclist Sushil Das, who now is busy in producing some of the best talents in the country, expressed his happiness at the development.
“If a velodrome is built, we will have many champions from Odisha itself,” Das stated. Sundargarh district in the last couple of years have produced very good cyclists who have got both national and international recognition. Among them are Swati Singh, Rohit Kumar Hembram, Dinesh Kumar, Varsa Rani Barik and Soumik Pohi.
Amongst the present crop, Swasti, Rohit and Varsa have been trained by Das. Due to the absence of a proper training facility, most of the cyclists train at the ring road in this city.
Cycling became a popular sport in the district when Chandrasekhar Jena gained national fame in the 1960s. After that he trained a number of other cyclists who also earned national acclaim. Cycling got a major boost when Minati Mohapatra was honoured with the Arjuna.
PNN