Tuesday, 20 AUGUST 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The Sports department is planning to introduce a scheme to enhance facilities for the State’s players in order to enable them to win international medals. The Sports director Jitendra Sonkar informed that the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), supported by the Central government, is currently operational across the nation. This scheme offers assistance to the top sportspersons in the country. The focus is to enhance the training of these athletes to improve their chances of winning medals at the Olympics. Further, the State Sports department is also considering launching a similar initiative, the Target International Medal scheme, to support players in Uttarakhand by providing premium facilities to improve their performance at the national and international levels.
Regarding the improvement of facilities for State’s players, it was noted that earlier the facilities for sports in the State were not up to a satisfactory standard. He further highlighted that as a result, several prominent players had shifted to other States, like shuttler Lakshya Sen from Almora, who had chosen to relocate to Karnataka in search of better sports facilities. Consequently, the Sports department has taken steps to enhance the sports facilities, offering out-of-turn employment, a four per cent reservation, and implemented the Mukhyamantri Khel Vikas Yojana (MKVY). Sonkar further added that with these new provisions, it is anticipated that the migration of sports players will cease and there is optimism that those who have already migrated will return to the State in the near future. Additionally, the department plans to further improve the sports facilities to better serve the sportspersons. He also emphasised and expressed happiness over the State Sports University Bill proposal approved in the recent meeting of the State cabinet.
