Union Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs Kiren Rijiju virtually inaugurated Khelo India State Centres of Excellence (KISCE) in eight states – Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Kerala, Telangana, Nagaland, Karnataka and Odisha – on Tuesday.
The Sports Ministry had identified sports facilities in these eight centres to be upgraded to KISCE:
1. Manipur - Khuman Lampak Sports Complex, Imphal
2. Nagaland- State Sports Academy, IG Stadium Kohima
3. Arunachal Pradesh - Sangey Lhaden Sports Academy, Chimpu Itanagar
4. Mizoram - Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Aizawl
5. Odisha - Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneshwar
6. Telangana - Regional Sports School Hakimpet
7. Karnataka - Sh. Jayaprakash Narayan National Youth Centre Bangalore
8. Kerala - GV Raja Sr. Sec. Sports School Thiruvananthapuram
"It is a very important beginning to develop sports culture and excellence in the country. The youth in India is looking for initiatives from the Govt of India and the State Governments. Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji has said sports has to be a way of life for every Indian and the Govt of India wants to create basic facilities for everyone. The Khelo India State Centres of Excellence are being started in addition to the National Centres of Excellence," Rijiju said.
The Union minister reiterated the vision to see India in top 10 in the Los Angeles Olympics 2028. "The Central and State governments have to work together and we will provide all necessary financial assistance, so they develop with proper infrastructure and manpower, sports science, high-quality training and so on. We cannot be satisfied with only 1-2 medals, we have to be in top 10 in the 2028 Olympics,” Rijiju added.
Arunachal Pradesh Sports Minister Mama Natung, Advisor, YAS, Nagaland, Er Zale Neikha, Manipur Sports Minister Letpao Haokip, Mizoram Sports Minister Robert Romawia Royte and Telangana Sports Minister V Srinivas Goud attended the virtual event. Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and Secretary (Sports) Ravi Mital was also present along with Sandip Pradhan, Director-General, Sports Authority of India.
The support to the centres will be in the form of infrastructure up-gradation, setting up of sports science centres and also a soft component in the form of quality coaches and sports science human resources like physiotherapists, strength & conditioning experts and so on. The Centres will also have High-performance Managers to ensure the quality of sports science input and performance management. The setting up of the KISCE will also help to broad-base talent identification since the states and UTs will also identify and develop talent in each sport for which funding is received, the Sports Ministry stated.
