Chief Minister Harish Rawat said Uttarakhand will soon emerge as a force to reckon with in the field of sports.
Inaugurating the state's first hockey synthetic turf at Maharana Pratap Sports stadium here late last night, Rawat described it as a significant step in the ongoing preparations for the 2018 National Games to be hosted for the first time by the hill state in 2018.
World class stadia are being built in Dehradun and Haldwani while stadiums located in Pithoragarh, Tehri and Pauriare being upgraded, an official release quoting the chief minister said.
A sports college in Pithoragarh will become functional next year while efforts are underway to develop sports infrastructure in the rural areas and give a boost to sporting activities.
Announcing that the state government is ready to relax the norms to combat the dearth of coaches, he said services of senior sports persons can be taken as honorary coaches.
