Kolkata, 17 September (H.S.): Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Raksha Khadse visited the Sports Authority of India (SAI) Regional Centre located in Salt Lake, Kolkata. She reviewed the existing sports infrastructure, athlete development facilities, and other support systems. During her visit on Thursday, she paid floral tributes at the statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Subsequently, she visited the hockey field, where she interacted with players and coaches to gather feedback on their training, facilities, and requirements. She also inspected the indoor stadium for gymnastics and table tennis, meeting the athletes present there.

The Minister visited the Sports Science Department, where she interacted with the staff and discussed the crucial role of scientific support in athlete development, recovery, and performance enhancement. Present on the occasion were SAI Kolkata Regional Director Sivananda Mishra, Olympians Soma Biswas and Poulami Ghatak, MY Bharat Regional Director Dev Kumar Chatterjee, and members of the Indian women's rugby team. The Minister placed special emphasis on integrating sports science, better nutrition, and rehabilitation facilities with quality coaching.

During her visit, Raksha Khadse also inspected the new 300-bed Khelo India hostel and reviewed the residential facilities being developed for the athletes. In addition, she visited the archery and athletics fields, inquiring about the specific needs of the coaches and players.

Following the inspection of the facilities, she chaired a review meeting with SAI officials regarding the functioning of the regional centre. She assured all possible support in promoting sports at the grassroots level and preparing young athletes for higher levels of competition. She stated that West Bengal possesses a highly rich sports culture, which can be further strengthened through better infrastructure, scientific training, and quality coaching.

Notably, the Eastern Regional SAI Centre serves as a crucial hub for implementing SAI schemes across West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Tripura, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The facility houses a dedicated sports science centre alongside infrastructure for hockey, football, archery, a 400-metre synthetic track, a swimming pool, basketball, volleyball, and indoor sports.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh