TN to focus on 36 disciplines of sports, include cricket in hostels: Minister Aadhav Arjuna

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Sports Minister Aadhav Arjuna on Monday said the state's ambitious sports development initiative will focus on 36 specific disciplines and officially introduce cricket into state-run sports hostels starting next year.

At a felicitation ceremony for Asian Games medalists here, the minister outlined an expansive grassroots roadmap aimed at transforming the state's sporting ecosystem and preparing talent for the 2036 Olympic Games.

"Squash sports hostels are being started, and from next year, cricket will also be introduced in sports hostels," the minister said. "Cricket has now been brought into the Asian Games. Our dream must be the Olympics; once we secure one medal, 10 more will follow," he added.

According to him, as part of the structural expansion, the government plans to scale the number of supported sports hostel athletes tenfold -- from the current 2,800 to 30,000 across the state. The sports hostel model will be expanded across all 38 districts to identify and train rural talent early, he added.

"Our target is 2036 Olympics," the minister stated. Promising candidates will be spotted in villages and schools at the age of eight and groomed until they achieve international podium finishes, he added.

In a major policy announcement regarding support personnel, the minister said coaches will receive financial incentives matching those granted to victorious players. "Coaches are equal to players. Whatever prize money is awarded to athletes, coaches must receive an equal amount," he said, adding that the proposal would be taken up with Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay

Acknowledging existing infrastructure deficits, the minister pledged that world-class rehabilitation hubs and sports cities -- on par with facilities in Bengaluru -- would be established across Tamil Nadu within four years.

Urging young athletes not to let economic hardships deter their ambitions, he cited the example of athlete Vidhya Ramaraj, who emerged from sports hostel Room Number 55 to compete at the world level. "You should never feel, 'My father drives an auto, my mother is a farmer, my father is a fisherman, how can we win at the Olympics?' That is not the case at all. The government is ready to provide everything," he asserted.

The CM will host a dinner to felicitate the medal winners alongside sports hostel students, he announced.