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Union Minister of Sports Anurag Thakur inaugurated the multi-purpose sports hall at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) NSSC, Bengaluru on Wednesday.
The multi-purpose indoor hall is of size 35 X 42 metre with a total covered area of 1785 sqm and a clear height of 12.5 m which shall facilitate various indoor games such as Volleyball, Badminton, Basketball, Table Tennis. There are proper lighting arrangements as well. The flooring of the multi-purpose indoor hall complies with international standards. The total sanctioned amount is Rs. 8.87 Cr funded under the head of Khelo India. He was welcomed in a traditional way by Jatin Narwal, IPS, Secretary SAI and Ritu A Pathik, Regional Director, SAI, NSSC, Bengaluru. Eminent athletes also graced the event. Thereafter he commenced the volleyball match with the first serve portraying his athletic endeavour. In his speech, the Minister mentioned the glorious wins of athletes in the past as well as congratulated the athletes who have qualified for international events. Thereafter, he talked about infrastructure development at SAI NSSC Bengaluru. He went on to say that, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been very kind towards sports and sports persons with regards to sports budget allocated in this year's union budget, which is considerably higher than previous years." He then talked about the tremendous influence of Khelo India scheme in building young athletes of the nation. The minister then thanked the athletes who on the directions of the PM took time from their schedule and visited various schools to motivate the students to participate in sports, as part of the 'Meet the Champion' and 'Fit India School Week' programmes. After his speech, Minister interacted with the athletes, coaches and encouraged them to excel in the forthcoming events. Following the event, Thakur told ANI that Rs 70 crore more will be spent at the facility and two hostels will be made for boys and girls. "The girls' hostel will have 330 beds, while the boys' hostel will have 300 beds. The current capacity here is 750 beds and the addition of 630 beds will take it to 1,380 beds, which is one of the highest in the country," said Thakur to ANI. He said that a new athletic track, a new astroturf for hockey are being made and expansion is being done in the sports science and medicine centre. "I thank PM for increasing the sports budget for this year and sanctioning 3,200 cr for Khelo India. We have recruited more than 450 coaches in the last 1-1.5 yrs. Experts are being recruited to increase performance at the international level. All facilities are being provided," added the minister. (ANI)
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