Bhubaneswar: Minister of Sports and Youth Services, Tusharkanti Behera visited the department on Friday to interact and engage with officials and review ongoing projects.
He was welcomed by Secretary-cum-Commissioner, Department of Sports and Youth Services, Vishal K Dev, Director, Department of Sports and Youth Services, Vineel Krishna and a team of administrators.
“The government stays committed to promoting sports and sporting talent and increasing our state representation in national teams and international arenas/platforms. Together, we will develop methodology and initiatives to induce growth and participation of budding talent in various sports disciplines from across the state,” said Behera.
“In the recent years, Odisha has successfully achieved the tag of the ‘sports capital’ of India. We will strive to retain the accolade by constantly investing in the sports sector, right from the grassroots to the senior high-performance level. Government will continue to host national and international events for its sports savvy public,” he added.
Department officials and associated organisations have made commendable efforts to restore and repair the sports infrastructure and facilities to its previous form, post cyclone Fani. “The Kalinga Hockey Stadium is match-ready and it is our pride to be hosting yet another international event; the FIH Men’s Series Finals Bhubaneswar Odisha 2019,” he said.