Bhopal: Cabinet members PC Sharma, Surendra Singh Baghel and Jeetu Patwari laid the foundation of 2 Synthetic Turfs costing Rs 19 crore 96 lakh for hockey players and two trap and skeet range costing Rs 5 crore 22 for shooting players at Madhya Pradesh Shooting Academy, Goregaon (Bhopal). The ministers visited the shooting academy and took stock of the sports facilities being provided to the players and also even aimed with the shotgun.
Minister Sharma said that Bhopal has carved a distinct identity as a nursery of hockey and has given many Olympic players to the country, thus making the state proud. He said that Chief Minister Kamal Nath and Sports and Youth Welfare Minister Jeetu Patwari are constantly striving to make M.P. a leading state in sports. Sharma encouraged the players to work hard to refine their talent and make a career in sports. The Public Relations Minister told that 50 acre land has been reserved to develop a world-class football stadium.
Referring to 24 hockey feeder centres and Women’s and Men’s Hockey Academy being run in the state, Minister Patwari said that no other state has as many resources in the field of hockey. He said that Madhya Pradesh government is committed to provide high-level sports facilities and training to sportspersons of the state. Patwari said that the dream of Chief Minister Kamal Nath to make the state number one in sports will be realized. He said that Bhopal will be the first city in the country where 6 synthetic turfs will be available for the players. This will give Madhya Pradesh an opportunity to host international tournaments and also encourage sports tourism.
Minister Patwari informed that Bilavali pond is being prepared for water sports in Indore, where international dragon boat competition will be organized in coming November. He said that in view of better prospects of sports tourism in Maheshwar, a canoe slalom course is being conducted on the Narmada’s Sahastradhara.
Tourism Minister Surendra Singh Baghel said that keeping in view the better prospects of tourism in the field of sports, all possible steps will be taken to link sports with tourism. Commitment is very important for better performance. There is no shortcut to succeed in competition.
Director Sports and Youth Welfare Dr SL Thaosen said that the Sports Department is providing state-of-the-art sports facilities and high performance training to the players. He hoped that the players will make the state proud by winning more medals in the upcoming national games than in the previous national games.
Chief Instructor of Hockey Academy Rajinder Singh informed that the players will be able to take advantage of synthetic turf in international competitions. Executive Engineer of Capital Project Administration Rajesh Sood, Joint Director Dr Vinod Pradhan, BS Yadav besides other officials and a large number of players were present in the programme.
