Minister Mama Natung attends national meet on sports at Kevadia

A CORRESPONDENT

GUJARAT: Minister Sports & Youth Affairs Mama Natung attended the two-day National Conference on Sports organized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports at Kevadia here.

The national conference was organized on June 23 & 24, where Sports Ministers from all states across the country participated.

While on the day of arrival welcome programme was organized followed by a visit to the Statue of Unity and an official dinner.

The second day was dedicated to discussion on sports programmes & development across the country. A brief welcome address was delivered by the Sports Secretary followed by a keynote address by Anurag Thakur, Minister-in-charge, Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India.

This was followed by a detailed discussion on Khelo India implementation programme, infrastructure development etc undertaken by various states.

Speaking on this occasion, Mama Natung said that 54 Small Khelo India Centres have been sanctioned by the Government of India and are in the developing stage in various districts across the state. These are in the final stages and would be completed within a time frame of 2 years.

He also emphasized that One State Level Khelo India Centre at Sangay Lhaden Sports Academy, Chimpu, and Itanagar have been developed and the result till now is quite encouraging. It is the same place where one National Centre of Excellence has also been created for the sports discipline of Weightlifting.

Natung informed that the state of Arunachal also has 2 Sports Academies, viz, Sangay Lhaden Sports Academy, Chimpu and State Sports Academy, Miao where grass root development of sports is undertaken for the age group of 10-16 years, students from all districts are selected through talent identification.

"To elicit participation and cooperation from all and develop & promote sports in all corners of the state, the State Cabinet and the Directorate of Sports has created a Task Force to prepare Road Map for Mission Olympic 2024, 2028 and 2032," he said.

He said that the elite athletes will be given special training & coaching under foreign coaches, and will have separate nutritionists, physiotherapists and sports psychologists to produce world-beaters. This scheme will commence immediately from this financial year only.

While elaborating on the various development that is being undertaken, Natung elucidated the need for special parameters & guidelines for the implementation of Khelo India schemes in the entire Northeast considering the region's topography and geographical isolation from the rest of India. He also emphasized the dire need for the extra fund for the entire Northeast region especially the State of Arunachal Pradesh since its economically backward and has a lack of infrastructure and a lot of connectivity issues.

After discussion, and sharing views and concerns of all the delegates present from various states, the Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports, Anurag Thakur made his concluding remarks. The conference ended on a positive note.

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