Sports Secretary Hari Ranjan Rao said India must adopt Manipur’s sporting culture to improve performance and build a stronger sports ecosystem nationwide.
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IMPHAL — Secretary in the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports Hari Ranjan Rao on Friday said India needs to build a strong sporting culture and adopt Manipur’s approach to sports.
Addressing the 8th foundation day celebration of the National Sports University (NSU) at the Khuman Lampak Sports Complex here, the Sports Secretary said a country with a population of 1.4 billion cannot remain satisfied with winning only six or seven medals at the Olympic Games.
“That is not something which we are going to sit idle about. We need to reach a higher level,” Rao said.
He said student involvement in sports at the school level in India remains inadequate and stressed the need to integrate sports with formal education. Emphasising infrastructure and institutional support, he said there was a need for trained coaches and support staff in areas such as sports science and physiotherapy.
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Rao said the role of the National Sports University would be critical to nation-building in the coming years.
Referring to the location of the university, he described Manipur as a land of sportspersons and said he was struck by the participation of older men and women in sporting activities across the state.
Vice-Chancellor of NSU Shyam Sundar Rath, in his address, said the university gives focused attention to disciplines such as sports science, psychology, nutrition, biomechanics, exercise physiology, sports medicine and coaching, which have contributed to students’ achievements at national and international levels.
Joint Secretary (Policy) in the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports Shobhit Jain and Padma Shri awardee Kunjarani Devi also spoke at the programme, which was attended by sportspersons, faculty members, managers, coaches, officials and students.
The celebrations included the release of the NSU newsletter, honouring of Olympians and Arjuna Awardees, felicitation of eminent sportspersons and sports scientists, outstanding sportspersons, managers and coaches of NSU, and academic achievers of the university.
Earlier in the day, Rao, who is also the Director General of the Sports Authority of India, visited and interacted with players at SAI centres in Imphal.