The Arvind Kejriwal government has set up a Sports University with an aim to build the career of the budding sports personalities so that they could be trained in such a way that they could compete in the upcoming Olympic Games.
Delhi education minister Manish Sisodia on Thursday reviewed the construction of the upcoming Sports University in the capital and instructed officials to build it after visualising the day-to-day life of a sportsperson so that they can "relish their training" at the varsity.
Weightlifting champion Karnam Malleswari was named the varsity vice-chancellor on June 24.
Outlining the priorities for the construction of the campus, Sisodia said, "The University should be constructed keeping in mind the daily life routine of 10 top sportspersons of the world. For sportspersons, the stadium is their world and they thoroughly relish the training facilities that will enhance their performance. They lead a highly disciplined ascetic life. Such a routine is essential for any sportsperson to win medals at the highest levels of competition, including the Olympics."
"Our objective is to create a university which can make the nation proud by producing medal-winning athletes, by providing advanced training facilities and sports infrastructure," he said.
The state cabinet in October 2019 approved the setting up of the university in outer Delhi's Mundka. Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had said the university will offer field-specific degrees that will be on a par with those offered in other courses at the graduate, postgraduate and doctoral levels.
The government in the same month allocated the university a 90 acres plot in Mundka. However, construction work was disrupted by the pandemic and has not started yet.
The Delhi Sports University is expected to start admitting students from class 6 onwards beginning April next year. HT last month reported that due to a delay in construction of the campus in Mundka, the Sports University will begin its operations from a government school building and sports complex in Civil Lines.
Delhi public works minister Satyendra Jain, who also attended the review meeting on Thursday, said, "The Delhi Sports University will be a world-class institution on a par with other world-class sports universities. It will leave no stone unturned in accomplishing this feat. The university will be equipped with the latest technology and equipment for enhancing the performance and overall well-being of athletes."
