Telangana Sports Hub holds Inaugural Board Meeting

Metro India News | Hyderabad :

The inaugural board meeting of the Telangana Sports Hub was held in Hyderabad on Thursday under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Shri A. Revanth Reddy, where key resolutions were passed to position Telangana as a national and international sporting hub. The board resolved to host premier competitions like Khelo India, Commonwealth Games and Olympics, and to constitute sub-committees for stadium maintenance, sporting facilities, and training of players and coaches.

Chief Minister Revanth Reddy emphasized his vision of making Hyderabad a preferred destination for sports. “Our goal is to foster a sports culture as strong as the IT culture in Telangana, with every family aspiring to see their children pursue sports careers,” he said. The CM highlighted that the state’s sports budget has been increased sixteen-fold and government jobs extended to achievers, alongside the establishment of the Young India Sports University. Acknowledging the shortage of coaches, he directed the board to prepare a three-year action plan to train and deploy them to international standards.

Former Indian cricket captain Kapil Dev urged: “Every student must participate in at least one sport, just as Haryana nurtured wrestling at the village level.” Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra added: “Every school must have a physical education teacher and director to sustain a culture of sports.”

Sports promoter Vita Dani underlined the need for “sports and physical literacy at the school level.” Former badminton star Pullela Gopichand proposed “phase-wise competitions beginning at the village level,” while Sports Hub Co-Chairperson Upasana Konidela highlighted “the need to reduce high taxes on sports equipment and to introduce physiotherapy courses in the Sports University.”

Sports Hub Chairman Dr. Sanjiv Goenka suggested engaging “top global executives from the region to help build Telangana’s sports ecosystem.” Chinta Sashidhar of Vishwa Samudra Foundation stressed: “High-performing athletes need access to world-class equipment to deliver results.”

Sports administrator Biyyala Papa Rao said: “Coaches at the Sports University must be as qualified as professors at IITs.” Former Indian football captain Bhaichung Bhutia recommended: “Telangana should replicate England’s league model across sports.” Volleyball stalwart Ravikanth Reddy called for “better utilization of existing sports facilities.”

The CM also announced plans for competitions at the village, mandal, and Assembly levels, culminating at the state level, and assured that “the issue of reducing sports equipment taxes will be raised with the Centre.” He further confirmed the government’s support for expanding physiotherapy and allied courses at the Sports University.

Sports Minister Vakiti Srihari, Special Chief Secretary Jayesh Ranjan, SATG Chairman Shivasena Reddy, Vice Chairman & MD Sonibala Devi, and other officials also attended the meeting.