The bouquet of High Performance Centre (HPC) set up by the Government of Odisha will now feature two new disciplines. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was inked today between Odisha Government and Tata Steel to establish HPCs in Olympic sports, archery and sport climbing. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was present on the occasion.

According to a press release from the office of the Chief Minister, Odisha Tata Archery Academy and Odisha Tata Steel Adventure Foundation Sport Climbing Academy will be established in Bhubaneswar for development of athletes in the disciplines. Regional Development Centres will also be set up for archery while both academies will also run grassroots programs.

Led by experts these HPCs will identify and nurture exceptional talent, empowering them to compete at national and international levels and provide top-notch infrastructure and training facilities. These centres will serve as hubs for aspiring athletes to realize their full potential.

These academies will feature players that are scouted from the state sports hostels, state level and national level programs. The athletes will also have access to the sports facilities of the Sports & Youth Services Department for their holistic development, which will include the gymnasium, swimming pool and sports science centre at the Kalinga Stadium.

Secretary R Vineel Krishna represented the Sports & Youth Services Department while Tata Steel was represented by Chanakya Chaudhary, Vice-President, Corporate Services Tata Steel Ltd and Chairman Tata Steel Adventure Foundation.

A bouquet of HPCs has already been established by the Odisha Government at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. This is a unique partnership model between a state and a corporate that has proven to produce elite athletes in hockey, football, swimming, athletics, gymnastics, sports science, shooting and weightlifting.
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PHOTO: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik poses with Sports Secretary R Vineel Krishna and Tata Steel Vice-President Chanakya Chaudhary at the MoU signing ceremony in Bhubaneswar on 13 December 2023.