MP to promote sports at village, block levels

The funds would be provided to District Collectors to promote sports and physical training in villages and blocks, Madhya Pradesh Sports Director Shailendra Srivastava said at a press conference here.

Hailing the achievements of MP's sportspersons who featured in qualifying rounds of the last year's Olympics, he said the State Government has earmarked a budget of Rs 100 crore for various sports and their promotion.

To promote hockey, the state has started a tournament, whose winner gets Rs 51 lakh in prize money, said Srivastava, an IPS officer.

Fifteen more astro-turfs would be set up in the state soon, the Sports Director said.

From April, the Government will launch a scheme under which sporting talents aged nine years will be identified and they will be trained to win medals in the 2020 Olympics, Srivastava said.

The selected candidates in three disciplines - water sports, martial arts and shooting - would be given training in an academy and also sent abroad, he said.