PrintFriendly
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on 2 January,2022 laid the foundation stone of Major Dhyan Chand Sports University in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. The Sports University will be established at an estimated cost of about Rs 700 Crore and will be equipped with modern and state of the art sports infrastructure including synthetic Hockey ground, Football ground, Basketball / Volleyball / Handball / Kabaddi ground, Lawn tennis court, Gymnasium hall, Synthetic running stadium, Swimming pool, Multipurpose hall and a Cycling velodrome. The university will also house facilities for Shooting, Squash, Gymnastics, Weightlifting, Archery, Canoeing and Kayaking, among other facilities. The University will have the capacity of training 1080 sports persons including 540 female and 540 male sportspersons.
Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister noted the significant contribution of Meerut and its surrounding region in giving a new direction to independent India. The people from the region, he said, have sacrificed on the border for the defense of the nation and enhanced the country’s prestige in the playground. This region has kept the flame of patriotism alive, the Prime Minister emphasized. “In Indian history, Meerut has not just been a city but a significant center of culture and strength”, the Prime Minister said. The Prime Minister narrated his exhilaration on feeling the spirit of the Museum of Freedom, Amar Jawan Jyoti and temple of Baba Aughar Nath ji.
The Prime Minister remembered Major Dhyan Chand who was active in Meerut. A few months back, the central government had named the country’s biggest sports award after the sporting icon. The Sports University of Meerut is being dedicated to Major Dhyan Chand today, the Prime Minister said.
The Prime Minister said youth is the cornerstone and also expansion of New India. Youth is the shaper and also the leader of New India. Our youth today have the heritage of antiquity and also have a sense of modernity. And so, where the youth will go, India will also move. And the world is going to go where India goes.
Shri Modi highlighted that in the last few years, BJP government has given top priority to the Indian players to get four tools – resources, modern facilities for training, international exposure and transparency in selection. The Prime Minister stressed that for sports in the country to thrive, it is necessary that the youth should have faith in sports and should be encouraged to take up sports as a profession. “This is my resolve, and my dream too! I wish our youth to see sports like other professions”, he said. The Prime Minister remarked that the government linked sports with employment. Schemes like Target Olympics Podium (TOPS) are providing all support to top sportspersons to compete at the highest level. Khelo India Abhiyan is recognizing talent very early and all support is being given to groom them for international level.India’s recent performance in Olympics and Para-Olympics, said the Prime Minister, is a proof of a new India’s rise in the play field. With the advent of sporting infrastructure in villages and small towns, there are a rising number of sportspersons from these towns.
The Prime Minister said in the new National Education Policy, priority has been given to sports. Sports have now been kept in the same category as science, commerce or other studies. Earlier sports were considered as extra curricular activities, but now sports schools will have it as a proper subject. The Prime Minister said that the sporting eco-system comprising sports, sports management, sports writing, sports psychology etc, creates new possibilities.