UP Govt plans massive boost to budding athletes, sports infra

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], November 18 (ANI): With an aim to foster sports culture in the state and promote athletes, the Yogi Adityanath government, through the New Sports Policy 2022, will not only engage itself in identifying the budding athletes in the state, but also develop sports infrastructure for quality training of the sportspersons, said officials on Friday.
Under the New Sports Policy to be approved by the state cabinet, the government will also constitute the UP Sports Development Fund for providing world-class training and support to talented sportspersons, for which a plan with an initial budget of Rs 100 crore is ready.
According to Additional Chief Secretary of Sports, Navneet Sehgal, the New Sports Policy 2022 will prepare the players and sportspersons of Uttar Pradesh to excel in competitions like the Olympic Games.
"Sports talents from remote rural areas will be identified and all kinds of facilities related to sports will be made available to them along with quality training. Moreover, a sports authority will be formed in UP and a state-level training institute will also be opened for sportspersons in the state," said Sehgal.
The Additional Chief Secretary further informed that the proposed sports policy has been prepared with the aim of promoting sports through technology.
"Playgrounds will be set up in every village in the state. At present, there are about 30,000 playgrounds in the state, and a target has been set to double them to 60,000. Apart from this, financial assistance will also be made available to private sports academies," Sehgal added.
Sehgal also informed that under the new sports policy, UP Sports Development Fund will be created with an initial budget of Rs 100 crore. This will be used for the purchase of sports equipment, foreign training camps, appointment of physiologists, psychologists and foreign coaches.
"District sports centres will also be set up in every district. Apart from this, 14 Centers of Excellence will be established in the next five years for high-quality training for the players representing the state and the country in national and international competitions. Along with this, a physio trainer and dietician will be appointed in every division. A talent search committee will be constituted in every district to find hidden sports talents," read an official statement. (ANI)