interview2019 
The Odisha government has pledged an investment of Rs 200 crore to upgrade hockey infrastructure in Sundargarh district. Touted as the cradle of hockey, Sundargarh has consistently produced world-class hockey players who have stunned the world flaunting their skills with the stick.
This investment also augurs well for Sundargarh as Rourkela is going to co-host the Hockey World Cup 2023 alongside Bhubaneswar. Department of Sports plans further strengthen Coaching Program in Panposh. DoS has rejected rumours that Panposh Sports Hostel is being shifted.
It has been decided that Panposh Sports Hostel will be exclusively for Boys in field hockey and Sundergarh Sports Hostel will train girls.
Sundergarh which is the ‘Cradle of Hockey’ will continue to produce world-class hockey players for the country. To take this these entire forward, infrastructure development, placement of expert coaches and support staff and relocation of inmates will be undertaken, officials say.
In fact, Odisha Sports has commenced the process of restructuring and revamping its 16 residential sports hostels and will introduce Sports Specific Hostels.
“This will restructure the allocation of sports disciplines across its hostels and nurture trainees of a particular sport, under defined age groups, at one location, thereby enhancing the scope for more competitive and collaborative learning, leading to the holistic development of an athlete”, said Vishal K Dev, Secretary Sports and Youth Services.
Currently, these multi-disciplinary sports hostels across 11 disciplines cater to trainees from the State, in the age group of 9-25 years, leading to a scattered talent pool.
This one sports discipline per hostel, the model will restructure the allocation of sports disciplines among sports hostels and develop each hostel into a specialized centre for a specific sport, with an appropriate cluster of athletes, adequate infrastructure for accommodation, coaching and training.
The hostels have been matched with their respective Sport basis its popularity in the region or district, presence of rural talent in that discipline and the availability of relevant infrastructure.
Owing to a robust sports infrastructure and related facilities, Sports Hostels in Bhubaneswar, Sundergarh and Berhampur will continue to operate as multi-disciplinary training hubs.
Article written by Dibyajit Sahu
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