HimVani
Shimla: A sports academy is likely to come up in Himachal Pradesh, while Rs 16 crore, under a central government project, would be spent on promotion of sports activities in the current financial year.
The academy, according to an official release, would aim to produce sports persons of international repute and inspire the youth to achieve excellence in sports.
For setting up the academy, a minimum of 10 acres of land in the urban area, and about 20 acres if the academy comes up in a rural area will be made available free of cost either by the state government or a sponsor from the public/private sector undertaking or an NGO or an individual. The place for the academy has not been identified as yet.
The cost of the academy is expected to be Rs 8.30 crore. The academy will have one major discipline out of the following four – athletics, football, hockey (men & women) and wrestling. Another discipline could be from the priority/non-priority area which would be of help in promoting the proficiency of selected sports persons in the selected major disciplines.
According to the release, for competitive and effective training in team disciplines, the number of trainees would be such as to form minimum two teams and in individual discipline minimum strength will be 15. The trainees who complete the training in the academy and have potential for further advancement, will be admitted to the Centres of Excellence in the Regional Centres of Sports Authority of India (SAI) where they will be provided with advanced training enabling them to reach international standards.