Maharashtra govt comes out with action plan to elevate performance of athletes

The Maharashtra government's sports department has chalked out an action plan to elevate the performance of players from the state at national and international competitions, Sports and Youth Welfare Minister Sanjay Bansode has said.

The plan, 'Mission Lakshyavedh' (mission achieving target), has been prepared with athletes from the state as centre point for National Games, Khelo India and Olympic Games, he said in a release issued by the sports department.

The state cabinet has approved a proposal of the sports department in this regard and the plan will be implemented soon, said Bansode.

The Directorate of Sports and Youth Services will be converted into the Sports Authority of Maharashtra which will coordinate with other stakeholders for implementation of the programme, said the release.

Also, an agreement will be signed with a national or an international organization performing well in the field of sports for executing the plan, it said.

In the first phase, 12 sports -- athletics, badminton, boxing, weightlifting, hockey, wrestling, archery, shooting, rowing, sailing, lawn tennis and table tennis -- will be covered under Mission Lakshyavedh for which a sum of Rs 160 crore will be made available, said the release.

Moreover, a well-equipped sports science centre will be established at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune and counselling facilities to be set up for players at divisional and district levels, it said.

Besides, 37 centres of sports excellence will be established at divisional headquarters. Similarly, 12 high-performance centres will be established where 3,740 players will be provided training in different sporting disciplines, the release added.

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