Snapshot
PM Modi laid the foundation stone for Major Dhyan Chand Sports University in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.
The sports university to be built with Rs 700 crore will have the capacity of training 1,080 sportspersons.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of Major Dhyan Chand Sports University in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. The Sports University will be established at an estimated cost of about Rs 700 crore.
It will be equipped with modern and state of the art sports infrastructure including synthetic hockey ground, football ground, grounds for basketball, volleyball, handball, kabaddi, lawn tennis court, gymnasium hall, synthetic running stadium, swimming pool, multipurpose hall and a cycling velodrome.
The university will also house facilities for shooting, squash, gymnastics, weightlifting, archery, canoeing and kayaking, among other facilities. The University will have the capacity of training 1,080 sportspersons including 540 female and 540 male sportspersons.
Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister remembered Major Dhyan Chand who was active in Meerut.
“A few months back, the central government had named the country’s biggest sports award after the sporting icon. The Sports University of Meerut is being dedicated to Major Dhyan Chand today,” the Prime Minister said.
“For sports in the country to thrive, it is necessary that the youth should have faith in sports and should be encouraged to take up sports as a profession. This is my resolve, and my dream too! I wish our youth to see sports like other professions,” he said.
The Prime Minister remarked that the government has linked sports with employment. Schemes like Target Olympics Podium (TOPS) are providing all support to top sportspersons to compete at the highest level.
“Khelo India Abhiyan is recognizing talent very early and all support is being given to groom them for international level. India’s recent performance in Olympics and Para-Olympics is proof of India’s rise in the play field,” the PM said.
The Prime Minister said in the new National Education Policy, priority has been given to sports. “Sports have now been kept in the same category as science, commerce or other studies. Earlier sports were considered as extra curricular activities, but now sports schools will have it as a proper subject,” he said.
The Prime Minister said that the sporting eco-system comprising sports, sports management, sports writing, sports psychology etc, creates new possibilities. He said this generates trust in the society that moving towards sports is the right decision.
“With resources, a sporting culture takes shape and Sports University will play a big role in this,” he added. Talking about the sporting culture of Meerut, the Prime Minister pointed out that the city exports sporting goods to more than 100 countries.