Centre of excellence for hockey and boxing to come up at SAI Aurangabad

Centre of excellence for hockey and boxing to come up at SAI Aurangabad

no photo

|

Hockey India

A centre of excellence for hockey and boxing will be set up at the Aurangabad centre of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) to nurture the talent of the players, an official said. This move is a part of the decision taken by the Ministry of Sports to create 20 National Centres of Excellence.

A centre of excellence for the sports of hockey and boxing will be set up at the Aurangabad centre of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) to nurture the talent of the players, an official said on Sunday.

Hockey players and boxers who are currently playing in junior groups will be groomed for 2024 Paris and 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, deputy director of SAI Aurangabad, Virendra Bhandarkar, said. He also said that the centre is well-equipped with boxing rings and synthetic hockey turf.

“Our establishment has been allotted with the zonal center for excellence for two games. We would get the strength of around 35 in boxing... We are expecting 24 boys and as many girls here in hockey,” he said to Sportstar.

Bhandarkar said the players will be selected through various competitions by talent scout teams.

“A new hostel, which can accommodate 300 players, is also sanctioned for SAI, Aurangabad. We are currently running Khelo India Weightlifting Academy here. Weight-lifters practising here have also won medals,” he concluded.

This move is a part of the decision taken by the Ministry of Sports to create 20 National Centres of Excellence (NCE) with top-of-the-line coaches who will train athletes in the developmental group keeping 2024 and 2028 Olympics in mind. The NCEs are supposed have the distinction of having a single scheme running in them for elite athletes, ending differentiation in training and other facilities between athletes within the same campus.

Get updates! Follow us on

Open all