Uttar Pradesh To Have Its First Sports University; State Will Adopt 2 Games

In a bid to spearhead the sporting ambitions and develop the sports environment in the state, the Uttar Pradesh government will be setting up a sports university in Meerut. The institution will be named after hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand.

Apart from building a university, the state will also adopt two games for the next 10 years. While one is wrestling, the other is yet to be finalised by the Sports department.

Uttar Pradesh is the second state after Odisha to adopt a game. Odisha sponsored the Indian hockey team for over a decade and provided all the facilities for the game.

In addition, open gyms are being built in each gram panchayat. For wrestling, the state government will build an academy in Lucknow.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath confirmed the development during the felicitation ceremony of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Medallists at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium, reported The Indian Express. Thousands of youth attended the event.

The government not only awarded the state players but all the athletes who brought medals home. The administration also rewarded the coaches and other staff associated with the players.

"For state players, the government used to reward ₹ 6 crore for the gold medal, ₹ 4 crore for silver and ₹ 2 crore for the bronze. In team games, each player was given ₹ 3 crore for gold, Rs 2 crore for silver and Rs 1 crore for bronze. But, these sportspersons played for India, and as our moral duty, we decided to give Rs 2 crore to the gold medalists, Rs 1.5 crore for silver and Rs 1 crore for the bronze medalists," the minister was quoted as saying.

Recently, Odisha approved Sports Infrastructure Development Project worth ₹693.35 crore, under which 89 multi-purpose indoor stadiums will be built in the next 18 months.

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