Young India sports varsity to be ready by Dec 2028: CM

Hyderabad: In a bid to boost sports in the state, chief minister A Revanth Reddy on Thursday unveiled the Gachibowli Sports District and the logo of the upcoming Young India Physical Education and Sports University (YIPESU), with Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president PT Usha in attendance..The sports district will have new sporting facilities while the university will be operational by Dec 2028, the chief minister said. The Gachibowli stadium, built in 2002 for the Afro-Asian Games, now hosts eight disciplines while the revamped stadium will field 22 disciplines along with training centres when ready.

“This is a great initiative by the state govt. Telangana did not have a sports policy for the last 12 years.

We wanted to show the way with our policy. Along with the sports policy, we will establish training institutions, academies and a university. The university’s name is inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, who published a newspaper called ‘Young India’ during the country’s freedom struggle. I want to revive sports infrastructure.

If India hosts the Olympics in 2036, I want Hyderabad to be a part of it. That is my dream,” Revanth Reddy said.

The chief minister said that sportspersons have been given govt jobs. “We gave Group I posts to Mohammed Siraj and Nikhat Zareen even though they did not have the required educational qualifications for the post. My govt will support athletes,” he said.Usha, who earlier in the day unveiled a statue of hockey legend Dhyan Chand and inaugurated the refurbished Telangana Olympic Association (TOA) building at LB Stadium, congratulated the state for establishing a sports university.“This is a big step for the growth of sports in the country. Success is never achieved alone. We need coaches, teachers, trainers, medical staff, infrastructure and a strong institution. This university will bring all these together to help young athletes achieve bigger things. My message to youngsters is: dream big, work hard, stay disciplined and never give up,” she said..The chief minister also confirmed that the state will host the eighth Khelo India Youth Games and the National Inter-District Athletics Championship later this year.

He also unveiled several initiatives, including the logo and website of YIPESU, the Physical Literacy Mission, the Young India Sports Fellowship, and six academic courses.The govt also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Aditya Mehta Foundation for a national talent identification programme for para-athletes.The chief minister presented cash incentives to shooters Esha Singh (Rs 3.3 crore), Dhanush Srikanth (Rs 2.1 crore), Tanishq Muralidhar (Rs 53.65 lakh) and Surabhi Bharadvaj (Rs 10 lakh), boxer Nikhat Zareen (Rs 60 lakh), and para-athlete Jeevanji Deepthi (Rs 50 lakh).