Odisha is shaping the future of India in sports, said Kandhamal MP Dr Achyuta Samanta in Parliament on Wednesday.
Participating in a session on discussion and voting on the Demands for Grants for Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports during the ongoing Budget Session, he said, “Today’s youth will shape the country's tomorrow and sports have tremendous role to play in this.”
Raising various grassroots issues of sport in the country, he said, “We should strive to achieve our best potential. Odisha now has become the sports capital of India due to continuous effort of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. World-class sports infrastructure has been created. In the Indian Hockey team, Odia players, including Dilip Tirkey and many others, have found place for last so many years."
He also cited the example of Dutee Chand who won gold medal in the recently concluded World University games in Italy. Drawing parallel to active campaigns for schemes like Swachha Bharat, Ujjwala, Ayushman and Soubhagya schemes introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said that similar campaign is needed for sports to develop it in the country.
"We need to handhold and guide them right from the formative stage and provide them suitable training and empower them with assurance of education and career, so that they can excel at the top level. Khelo India programme already has been introduced to revive the sports culture in India at grassroots level by building strong framework. We have to give more importance to it," he added.