The Delhi Government appointed renowned weightlifter and Olympic medalist Karnam Malleswari as the first Vice-Chancellor of the Delhi Sports University (DSU) on Wednesday.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia welcomed Malleswari, India’s first woman Olympic medal winner as the first VC of DSU on International Olympic Day.

“Our dream of launching Delhi Sports University is coming true. It gives me great pride that Olympian Karnam Malleswari will be the first Vice-Chancellor of Delhi Sports University. We discussed the vision of the Delhi Sports University today,” Kejriwal tweeted.

Speaking on her appointment, Sisodia said, “It is my greatest pleasure to announce the appointment of the first VC of DSU. Our purpose is to build and create athletes in our country who will make our nation proud. We want to create an atmosphere where sports flourish and bring our players to a level where they bring at least 50 medals each year so that we can finally host Olympic 2048 in the nation.”

Sisodia added, “The intention of building a world-class sports university is not to generate jobs but to provide a space for individuals to finally build their athletic talent. Through DSU, we want to nurture and foster talent so that we can say at least 50 Olympians are proud alumni of DSU. The university will also provide state-of-the-art sports facilities. Our goal is to prepare international medal winning champions in at least 10 sports.”

Sisodia also stated that the degree a student will receive upon graduation from DSU will be equivalent to degrees in mainstream courses.

Karnam Malleswari said, “We should start visiting schools once they reopen and conduct a talent hunt for students interested in sports. There are many children who take keen interest in sports but due to lack of any infrastructure, are unable to pursue their athletic dream. We will identify students, and match their athletic skills to the sports they are apt for.”

The Delhi Assembly had in 2019 passed a Bill to set up the DSU, which will offer graduation, postgraduate and doctorate degrees in cricket, football, and hockey among other sports. The DSU will streamline sports facilities and bring the sports talents under their ambit to prepare them for world-class competitions.