Hyderabad, March 9 (IANS) Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, on Monday, called for creating world-class infrastructure at the proposed Young India Sports University and modernisation of key stadiums to produce Olympic-level athletes from the state.

The Chief Minister held a review meeting with the officials of the Department of Sports, and the discussions focused on providing international-standard facilities at the Young India Sports University and developing grounds for various sports.

According to the Chief Minister’s Office, he directed officials to ensure that the Sports University is equipped with all facilities required to train athletes with the goal of excelling at the Olympics. He also instructed officials to renovate the Gachibowli Outdoor Stadium and develop an indoor stadium, university complex, hostel buildings, sports grounds for multiple disciplines, and other training facilities within the stadium premises.

The Chief Minister reviewed several architectural designs related to the proposed constructions and gave suggestions to officials.

He directed officials to prepare plans to position Telangana as a host for major events such as the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games, and to strengthen the performance of Telangana athletes in the Olympics.

The Chief Minister also instructed officials to modernise the Kotla Vijayabhaskara Reddy Stadium, LB Stadium, and Saroornagar Stadium to meet future requirements for training and competitions.

Sports and Youth Services Minister Vakiti Srihari and Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Srinivasa Reddy attended the meeting. Also present were CM’s former advisor Vem Narender Reddy, Sports Authority of Telangana (SAT) Chairman Shiva Sena Reddy, Chief Secretary K. Ramkrishna Rao, CM Principal Secretaries Srinivas Raju and Sheshadri, SAT Managing Director Soni Baladevi, Vice-Chancellor of Young India Sports University Dr G. Kishore, and senior officials.

The Telangana government last year formulated a sports policy to establish Telangana as a global sports leader and to transform the state into a hub for national and international sports. It constituted the Board of Governors for the Sports Hub of Telangana, which includes eminent sports personalities like Kapil Dev, Pullela Gopichand, Baichung Bhutia, Abhinav Bindra, and Ravikanth Reddy.

–IANS

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