Dikhyaa Mohanty 
The Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports recommended that every state should be encouraged to focus on one sport-specific to that region while highlighting the Odisha model. The committee also stated that the state shouldn’t be taking up other sports in general and should set up high-performance centres for its development as well as getting corporate sponsorship for support and promotion.
According to the official reports, the panel headed by Rajya Sabha MP Vinay P Sahasrabuddhe presented the 327th report on action taken by the government on the recommendations of the committee on the subject, ‘Preparations for Olympic Games, 2021’ in both houses.
The committee lauded the initiative and efforts taken by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in setting up the high-performance sports centres and sponsoring both men’s and women’s hockey teams since 2018, which translated into better performances by both the teams at Tokyo Olympics. It praised the Chief Minister for transforming the performance of men’s and women’s hockey teams of the country.
Besides, the states should also identify and promote raw talent from a tender age and provide them with the much-needed support of international standards in terms of equipment, sports kit, coaching (team and individual), exposure and mental conditioning in order to nurture them for participation and podium finish at the international level.
It also recommended that there should be an assured three per cent sports quota reservation in government jobs for all medal-winning athletes and for the period of employment they should grant financial aid to them.
