The Indian government is planning to improve its sporting infrastructure with the Winter Games, a part of the plan.
After the conclusion of the Khelo India Winter Games’ second leg in Gulmarg, Union Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports, Mansukh Mandaviya announced the plan of turning the skiing destination into sporting hub.
“The Indian government has a responsibility of developing sports across the country and the government will put in all efforts to help elevate the level of sports in Jammu & Kashmir. We plan to create a sporting hub for winter sports here in Gulmarg to give the youth the best opportunity and infrastructure to excel in sports. We are thinking positively about building a center of excellence for winter sports in Gulmarg,” said Mandaviya during his closing ceremony address.
“India has got immense talent and we have to find and nurture it from 9 years to 24 years. To be able to do this, we have to create a sports school at each district across the sub-continent, where raw talent will be scouted and then trained at the National Centres of Excellence across the country. We will ensure that they can compete at national and international level with all the support these youngsters require,” he added.
He praised Jammu & Kashmir for its Winter Sports coaching model.
“Jammu & Kashmir is already organising one of the best upskilling of coaches’ programmes among all Indian States. I have conveyed to all States to follow the coaching model created by Jammu & Kashmir,” the minister opined.
India continues to steadily built towards 2036 Olympics with cities like Ahmedabad and Bhubaneshwar undergoing a major makeover.
Mandaviya, once again, mentioned that the changes in the Indian sporting ecosystem will be made keeping the 2036 Olympic bid in mind.
“Keeping in mind that India wants to host the 2036 Olympic Games, we have to develop a robust sports infrastructure and a quality sports ecosystem. For this we will have to create a proper roadmap. Many times we set a goal, but the pathway required to reach there is missing. For this we had a three-day brainstorming session with the sports ministers of 28 States and 8 Union Territories, senior representatives of National Sports Federations, renowned athletes and sports experts in Hyderabad last week. We created a roadmap for the next 10 years with the inputs we received from all stakeholders,” he said.
READ MORE: Urmila Pable, Raised By Single-Mother, Making Waves At Khelo India Winter Games 2025