SAI to collaborate with identified universities

With an aim to achieve excellence in sports, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) has decided to collaborate with some identified universities across the country to improve the standards of training.

For this purpose, each Regional Director of SAI will identify one or two universities with good sports infrastructure and sporting traditions.

This decision was taken at a meeting of Heads of SAI Regional Centres, Academic Institutions, SAI Training Centres (STCs) and Special Area Games (SAG) Centres held in New Delhi on Monday.

The meeting was chaired by Sports Minister Vijay Goel, and was attended by Secretary (Sports) Rajiv Yadav, Director General of SAI Injeti Srinivas, and senior officers from the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports and SAI.

At the meeting, ways were discussed to improve the effectiveness of sports promotion schemes of SAI and providing the best facilities to the SAI trainees. It was also decided to closely monitor the 

performance of SAI coaches, take steps to constantly upgrade their skills and to incentivise them. 

In his remarks at the meeting, Goel emphasised on the need for SAI Centres to closely work with the State Governments and involve local representatives of people so that concerted and coordinated efforts can be made for achieving sporting excellence.

This was, after a gap of several years, that a Union Sports Minister took a meeting of field functionaries of SAI to understand the problems being faced at the grassroots level and take steps for improvement.