With an aim to boost sports infrastructure in the Delhi University (DU), a new sports hostel and an international standard shooting range are being planned to be constructed. Polo ground near Vijay Nagar in the North campus has been selected as the site for the planned hostel and University sports complex for the shooting range.
The proposed hostel will allow DU’s sports fraternity to host camps and it will also serve as residential quarters for the sports persons coming to DU to participate in inter-university competitions. As of now, the university had to make arrangements for the stay of competitors in hostels of its affiliated colleges, which was itself a big task given the lack of hostel seats in the university.
“The University Grants Commission has sanctioned Rs 75 lakh for the hostel and Rs 90 lakh for the shooting range. A sum of Rs 10 lakh has also been given for acquiring sports equipment for the University. The University has agreed to provide the further required funds once the total expenditure will be ascertained,” said Anil Kalkal, secretary, sports council of DU. According to officials in the University, the planning and design of the proposed facilities are ready and the construction will start very soon.
The shooting range, as per officials, will be a world-class range with computerised modern facilities for short ranged air pistol and rifle categories. The range will come up at the multipurpose-hall, indoor games section in the University sports complex. Currently, shooting range facilities are available only in few colleges which are inadequate for the DU’s shooters practice regime. As a consequence, students have to go to sports authority of India’s maintained Karni Singh shooting range in Tughlakabad for practice.
Even as the new shooting range is being planned, students of the varsity have brought laurels for the country. In the sixth World University Shooting Sport Championship held in Poland from September 14 and September 18, the Delhi University contingent of 10 shooters came back with 5 medals for the country. Dilreen Gill won gold, Sajneet Kaur and Mahima K Mahajan won silver. Two bronze winners were Sarveshwari Kumari and Yuvraj K Mahajan, the only male medal winner.