Punjab Government’s proposed Sports University at Patiala would commence its operations from the next session from the building of Patiala’s Physical Education College till the new campus comes up.
Meanwhile, the State Government has also identified a site at Sidhuwal village near Patiala for the establishment of the university.
“Punjab Chief Minister’s dream project to have a Sports University established in the state at Patiala has finally begun to take shape with the State Government identifying the site for the same. The University would commence its operations from the next session in the building of Physical Education College at Patiala,” said the state Sports Minister Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi on Sunday.
He said that the University would be a milestone in terms of revolutionizing the sports scenario of Punjab and restore the state to its earlier numero uno position in the sporting arena.
Sodhi said that a site has been identified at Sidhuwal village near Patiala for the establishment of the university and documentary process has been set in motion.
Varsity’s vice chancellor would be Dr lS Ranawat, who is the former executive director of the National Institute of Sports (NIS), he said.
Sodhi said that the focus areas of the new University would be sports science, sports psychology and sports management in order to keep pace with the emerging and changing trends in the sports sector.
He also divulged that the University would also concentrate on the research work to make Punjab once more the top most state in sports. “The course would be prepared with the assistance from the loughborough University of England. All the Physical Education colleges of Punjab would be affiliated with the new university,” he said.
“Not only the Chief Minister, but the former general secretary of the Indian Olympic Association and five-time Olympian Raja Randhir Singh is also associated with this project of great significance,” said Sodhi adding that the proposed University would be a boon for Punjab in the field of sports and Patiala would emerge as the sporting capital on the national level.