Administrators welcome more Khelo India State Centres of Excellence 

The Union Sports Ministry has upgraded three existing sports facilities across India as Khelo India Sports Centers of Excellence (KISCE).

Sports facilities at Guru Gobind Singh Sports College in Lucknow, Chhatrasal Stadium in Delhi and Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai will now be designated as Khelo India State Centers of Excellence.

With the addition of three new Khelo India State Centers of Excellence, the total number of Sports Centers in India will now be 27.

Guru Gobind Singh Sports College will be the main training center for hockey, athletics and badminton while Chhatrasal Stadium will be the hub for wrestling, athletics and boxing. Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai will focus on table tennis, fencing and athletics.

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The sports centers and the disciplines have been proposed by the respective state governments.

Speaking to Sportskeeda, C. Latha, the secretary of the Tamil Nadu Athletic Association, welcomed the move and said it would be good for home-grown athletes to have a scheme at the centrally-located stadium.

"It will be good for the Tamil Nadu athletes," she said. "I thank the authorities for choosing Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium for the scheme. I hope that this will be open to all athletes and not just elite athletes. There should not be any restrictions. I hope this helps to improve the sports facilities at the grassroots level."

Latha also hoped the advent of the Khelo India Sports Center of Excellence would help in uplifting the facilities available at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

"There is a need to have state-of-the-art infrastructure and equipment for all athletes to use," she said. "A well equipped gymnasium, massage center and a swimming pool should be in place."

Khelo India aims to make India win big

With a vision to make India one of the top 10 countries in the 2028 Olympics, the Khelo India State Centers of Excellence will ensure that athletes proficient in a certain sport can be given world-class specialized training. These centers have emerged as the best facilities in the country to train athletes in the priority sport for which they have been earmarked.

The assistance provided by the Sports Ministry for the Khelo India State Centers of Excellence would help bridge the gaps in sports equipment, high performance managers, coaches, sports scientists and technical support.

Khelo India Centers will also have a High performance Manager to ensure quality sports science input and performance management.

The State Centers of Excellence will also help in broad-based talent identification, since states and union territories will also identify and develop talent in each sport for which funding is received.