New Delhi (PIB): Union Minister of Sports & Youth Affairs Shri Kiren Rijiju virtually inaugurated 8 Khelo India State Centres of Excellence (KISCEs) across India in the presence of distinguished State Sports Ministers on Tuesday. The 8 States include: Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Kerala, Telangana, Nagaland, Karnataka and Odisha.

Karnataka Chief Minister Shri B S Yediyurappa was part of the virtual launch besides Arunachal Pradesh Sports Minister Sh. Mama Natung, Advisor, YAS, Nagaland, Er Zale Neikha, Manipur Sports Minister Sh. Letpao Haolip, Mizoram Sports Minister Sh. Robert Romawia Royte and Telangana Sports Minister Dr. V Srinivas Goud. Secretary (Sports) Shri Ravi Mital was also present along with Shri Sandip Pradhan, Director-General, Sports Authority of India.

“This is a very important day for sports in India and it is a very important beginning to develop sports culture and excellence in the country. The youth in India is looking for initiatives from the Govt of India and the State Governments. Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji has said sports has to be a way of life for every Indian and the Govt of India wants to create basic facilities for everyone. The Khelo India State Centres of Excellence are being started in addition to the National Centres of Excellence,” Shri Rijiju said.

The Union Minister reiterated the vision is to see India in top 10 in the Los Angeles Olympics 2028. “The Central and State governments have to work together and we will provide all necessary financial assistance so they develop with proper infrastructure and manpower, sports science, high quality training and so on. We cannot be satisfied with only 1-2 medals, we have to be in top 10 in 2028 Olympics,” Shri Rijiju added.

Chief Ministerof KarnatakaSh. B S Yediyurappathanked the Govt of India for setting up the KISCE and ensured complete support from the Govt of Karnataka to help build the sporting ecosystem of the country. “I thank Sports Minister of India  ShriKiren Rijiju ji from the bottom of my heart for allocating the Sh. Jayaprakash Narayan National Youth Centre Bangalore as a Khelo India State Centre of Excellence. The Govt of Karnataka is always investing heavily for the improvement of these centres, hostels and other organizations. We are also supporting all the medal winning sportspersons and I’m confident the KISCE here will produce more world class sportspersons who will bring great laurels to India,” Shri Yediyurappa mentioned.

The Sports Ministry had identified sports facilities in these 8 states to be upgraded to the Khelo India State Centre of Excellence (KISCE). The centres identified are:

1. Nagaland- State Sports Academy, IG Stadium Kohima

2. Manipur – Khuman Lampak Sports Complex, Imphal

3. Arunachal Pradesh – Sangey Lhaden Sports Academy, Chimpu Itanagar

4. Mizoram – Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Aizawl

5. Odisha – Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneshwar

6. Telangana – Regional Sports School Hakimpet

7. Karnataka – Sh. Jayaprakash Narayan National Youth Centre Bangalore

8. Kerala – GV Raja Sr. Sec. Sports School Thiruvananthapuram

With a vision to make India one of the top 10 countries in 2028 Olympics, the Khelo India State Centres of Excellence will ensure that athletes proficient in a certain sport can be given the world-class specialised training and these centers become the best facilities in the country to train athletes in the priority sport for which they have been earmarked.

The support to the centers will be in the form of infrastructure upgradation, setting up of sports science centres and also soft component in the form of quality coaches and sports science human resources like physiotherapists, strength & conditioning experts and so on. The Centres will also have High performance Managers to ensure quality of sports science input and performance management. The setting up of the KISCE will also help to broad-base talent identification, since the states and UTs will also identify and develop talent in each sport for which funding is received.