Bhubaneswar, April 8: The Odisha Government on Saturday entered into a partnership with Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel (AM/NS) India to set up High Performance Centre (HPC) in Gymnastics in Bhubaneswar to promote and develop the sport of gymnastics in the State. As part of this agreement, academies will also be set up in Puri, Jeypore and Rourkela in the State.
The State Government will create and maintain the infrastructure for the HPC and academies while AM/NS India will operate and manage these centres and train gymnasts, in particular women gymnasts, and provide coaching development and certification, and judge certification.
State Sports & Youth Services Department Commissioner-cum-Secretary Vineel Krishna and AM/NS Deputy Director (HR & Administration) Keiji Kubota signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the presence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at Kyoto in Japan.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, said, “This partnership will go a long way in creating a vibrant gymnastics ecosystem in the country and help us identify and develop young talent for the future.”
Odisha’s earlier collaboration with AM/NS India during the Ultimate Kho Kho League proved very fruitful with team Odisha Juggernauts emerging champions, said Patnaik.
We value AM/NS India’s continued support in this endeavour with Odisha state emerging as a hub for promoting sports culture in India, he further said.
The Odisha AM/NS Gymnastics High Performance Center will be a facility housed in the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar for senior athletes participating in the ‘Elite Senior Gymnastics Programme’. While the three ‘Odisha AM/NS Gymnastics Academies will be located in Puri, Jeypore, and Rourkela for grassroots level athletes.
Odisha has already set up Gymnastics Centre in Puri and Bhubaneswar and an additional centre in Rourkela will be operational soon. Gymnasts who have represented Odisha at national and international level have commenced their training at these centres.
Noteworthy, Odisha is the only State to set up a bouquet of high performance centres in India and since 2019, HPCs in Swimming, Shooting, Weightlifting, Football, Hockey, Sports Science and Athletics are operational and have produced national and International players.
