Punjab Newsline, Sports :
The Haryana government is set to take a major step towards strengthening the sports ecosystem in the state. With the aim of nurturing sporting talent and providing advanced training facilities to young athletes, the state will establish Sports Centres of Excellence in every district. Under this ambitious initiative, 22 PM SHRI (PM Schools for Rising India) and Model Sanskriti Schools have been selected and will be upgraded with modern sports infrastructure.
According to a notification issued by the School Education Department, sports-specific Centres of Excellence will be developed across different districts of the state. Five schools each have been selected for wrestling and boxing, while four schools will be developed as specialised centres for badminton. For cricket, Sirsa district has been exclusively chosen to host the Centre of Excellence for the entire state. Meanwhile, a hockey Centre of Excellence will be set up at the Baijalpur School in Fatehabad district.
In addition to this, a special grass ground for football will be developed at Dujana in Jhajjar district, providing players with training conditions that meet international standards. To promote swimming, modern swimming pools will be constructed at schools in Timarpur (Faridabad) and Sector-20 (Panchkula), offering high-quality facilities to students interested in aquatic sports.
To ensure uninterrupted training regardless of weather conditions, multipurpose halls will be constructed in 15 districts of Haryana. These halls will be equipped to support training in sports such as badminton, table tennis, wrestling, boxing and kabaddi. This move is expected to benefit athletes from both rural and urban areas, giving them equal access to quality sports infrastructure within their own districts.
The School Education Department has already forwarded the detailed proposal along with the list of selected schools to the Finance Department. Once budgetary approval is granted, funds will be released and construction work will begin. The department aims to start the development work before the beginning of the next academic session, so that students can begin training at these centres at the earliest.
This initiative is expected to significantly boost school-level sports and help identify and groom future champions. By bringing world-class sports facilities closer to young athletes, the Haryana government hopes to further strengthen the state’s reputation as a leading sports hub and produce athletes who can excel at national and international levels.