With Eye On Olympics, High Performance Hockey Centre Planned In Odisha’s Sundargarh

Bhubaneswar:  With an eye at the 2024 and 2028 Olympic Games, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and Hockey India on Thursday announced the setting up of a High Performance Hockey Centre (HPHC) at the National Hockey Academy at Sundargarh.

The HPHCs will be set up in seven different locations across India under the Khelo India scheme. They will have expert professional training, utilisation of sports science, and education of the young athletes. 

While the National Hockey Academy at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, SAI Sundargarh, Odisha, SAI UDMCC, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh and SAI, Bengaluru will be active in the next three months, the remaining three centres will be developed over the next 12 months. 

The existing SAI Centres and Hockey Academies in India will serve as ‘feeder’ Centres to these new HPHCs, which shall hold 72 men and 72 women hockey players at each location. These young hockey players will be selected from a specific age range of 14 to 24 years to ensure that they are ready for the 2024 and 2028 Olympics. 

Here is a list of the seven HPHCs

1. SAI Centre, Bengaluru, Karnataka (South Zone)
2. Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi (North Zone)
3. SAI Sundergarh, Odisha (East Zone)
4. SAI UDMCC, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh (Central Zone
5. SAI NS NEC, Takyel, Imphal, Manipur (North-East Zone)
6. Balewadi Sports Complex, Pune, Maharashtra (West Zone)
7. SAI Centre, Ranchi and Gomke Jaipal Singh Astroturf Hockey Stadium (East Zone II)