BENGALURU: The Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports (DYES) on Wednesday constituted a five-member committee to develop sports infrastructure in the state.
The committee comprises hockey Olympian VR Raghunath, former India player and current Karnataka bowling coach Sreenath Arvind, former international kabaddi player Honappa Gowda, former international athlete and coach BG Nagaraj and Dr Jitendra Shetty, deputy director, DYES.
According to the government order, the purpose of the committee is to advise the department on upgrading stadiums, grounds and 34 sports hostels in various districts to ensure that athletes are provided infrastructure and scientific support that are upscaled to Olympic standards.
The sports ministry has received numerous requests from MLAs, athletes and other stakeholders for development of facilities.
The committee has been given two months to submit the report with the members expected to go on on-site visits to get first-hand information.
Speaking about the formation of the committee, sports minister KC Narayana Gowda said, “The idea is to have athletes from various sports disciplines in the committee because each one of them come with their own experience and expertise. We are working towards getting at least 75 athletes from our state to represent India at the 2024 Olympics. For that to happen we need to upgrade our infrastructure and ensure there are no shortcomings in their training.”
