The Sports Authority of India and Hockey India have been committed to help grow the sport of Hockey in India, in a bid to provide state of the art facilities to Junior and Sub Junior Hockey players across the country, the organizations announced today the establishment of the High-Performance Hockey Centres in seven different locations in India. This will have a positive outcome for the objective of performing well in the Olympic Games in 2024 and 2028.
These seven high-performance Hockey Centres will be set up under the Khelo India scheme. With the utilization of sports science along with the education of the young athletes and lastly an expert training programme, these Centres will produce exceptional talents coming out of India. Owing to the large hockey-playing population in and around these seven cities and availability of infrastructure, SAI and Hockey India has strategically shortlisted these centres as the first seven High-Performance Hockey Centres in the country, and will further be identifying other suitable centres around the country which can be converted into High-Performance Centres in the future.
The programme will ensure the athletes are provided with international exposure. The existing SAI Centres and Hockey Academies around India will serve as ‘feeder’ Centres to these new High Performance Hockey Centres, which shall hold 72 Men and 72 Women hockey players at each location. These young hockey players will be selected from a specific age range of 14 to 24 years in order to ensure that they are developed and prepared in time for the 2024 and 2028 Olympics.
“The Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports and SAI launched the Khelo India Youth Games as well as the Khelo India University Games with a vision to create a robust system that will help identify potential athletes who can be trained for the Olympics. With the launch of High-Performance Hockey Centres across different zones in the country, we want to ensure talented youngsters are provided with top-quality facilities that will equip them to achieve success at the 2024 and 2028 Olympic Games. These High-Performance Centres will have a well-rounded system with special focus on scientifically advanced training which will also include mental training for young athletes,” stated Sandip Pradhan, Director General, SAI.
The initial seven High Performance Hockey Centres will be established at the following locations:
- SAI Centre, Bengaluru, Karnataka (South Zone)
- Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi (North Zone)
- SAI Sundergarh, Odisha (East Zone)
- SAI UDMCC, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh (Central Zone)
- SAI NS NEC, Takyel, Imphal, Manipur (North-East Zone)
- Balewadi Sports Complex, Pune, Maharashtra (West Zone)
- SAI Centre, Ranchi and Gomke Jaipal Singh Astroturf Hockey Stadium (East Zone II)
