On Sunday in a press release, the Sports Ministry announced that it has decided to name all the upcoming and upgraded facilities of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) after eminent athletes who have brought awards and honours for the country.
The Sports Authority of India also said that the initiative is for honouring the sports athletes, who work hard to make our countru proud.
According to the announcement made, in first leg the ministry has decided to name, the newly built air-conditioned wrestling hall and the learners swimming pool in the National Centre of Excellence (NCOE) in Lucknow, the multipurpose hall and Girls’ hostel in NCOE Sonepat, the 100-bedded hostel in NCOE (National Centre of Excellence) Bhopal and the new SAI Training Centre in Guwahati, which has a hostel, multipurpose hall and staff quarters, after local sports athletes.
Explaining the reasoning behind the decision, Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju said ‘ to build a sports culture in India it is important to honour the sports athletes for their competencies because then only the youth will be interested to opt sport for their careers.
However, the ministry did not mention any names in the release after mentioning the decision.
He also said, the government provides all the support to the athletes for their comfort and dignity.
“Acknowledging their contribution to sports by naming sporting facilities after them is yet another endeavour of the Government to strengthen its commitment to sportspersons”, Rijiju added.
It is very debatable that whether enough actions are being taken for keeping the achievements of sportspersons in public recognition. And also there are very fewer countries who name their sports facilities, venues and training centres after renowned sports athletes.
