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In a major boost to the country’s sports infrastructure, India’s first indoor athletics centre was inaugurated by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday, March 10. An indoor aquatics centre featuring world-class facilities was also opened on the same occasion.
Both facilties are part of the complex that includes the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. The athletics centre is endowed with features that make it capable of hosting continental-level events. It will also serve as a training facility for the Odisha Reliance Foundation High-Performance Centre (HPC).
The state-of-the-art indoor stadium features a 10,000 square-meter track of the type that is used in the Olympics. It was installed by an Italian firm, Mondo SpA.
Among the facilities provided for the athletes are a synthetic track that is 200m long, an additional 80m+20m long running track, as well as zones for long jump, triple jump, shot put, and pole vault.
Due to its modern design, the indoor athletics centre has been certified as a Category 1 facility for hosting international events.
There are also residential facilities for athletes who will come to train at the HPC. 60 twin-sharing rooms have been built as part of the complex.
Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik also inaugurated aquatics centre
Along with the indoor athletics stadium, a modern aquatics centre was also opened on Sunday by the Chief Minister of Odisha.
The aquatics centre contains a 50-meter-long swimming pool that is up to the Olympics standards. It also has a warm-up pool that is 25 meters long.
The seating capacity in this aquatics centre can accommodate up to 1000 people. It also has its own accommodation facility with 26 twin-sharing rooms. A training area and recovery centre are also part of this new swanky infrastructure.
Apart from inaugurating the two new sporting facilities, CM Patnaik also laid the foundation of an indoor Diving Centre. This upcoming facility will include a 25-meter temperature-controlled diving pool along with facilities for synchronized swimming. As many as 500 spectators will be able to watch the diving events that will take place here.
CM Patnaik expressed his satisfaction with the new facilities, saying:
“The new indoor facilities will provide our athletes to train and compete, round the year, without any external weather disturbances. We are confident that both Indoor Athletics Centre and the Aquatic Centre will certainly help set new standards for sporting excellence on both international and national stages."
The CM added:
"It also marks an important step, further strengthening Odisha's robust sports ecosystem and our partnership with Reliance Foundation, JSW, and Inspire Institute of Sports."
Odisha has been at the forefront of the growing sports culture in the country. The Kalinga Stadium has been the venue of various international hockey events. Last year, the state hosted the FIH Hockey World Cup for men with the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar and the Birsa Munda Stadium in Rourkela playing host to the matches.
