Dwarka gets sports centre with world-class facilities

New Delhi: Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on Thursday opened its first Centre for Excellence at Dwarka Sector 8. The facility was inaugurated by lieutenant governor V K Saxena.DDA said the sports centre, spread over 23.3 acres, is designed to nurture promising young athletes by offering world-class training infrastructure comparable to international sporting venues."Specialised training facilities and professional coaching will be provided for boxing, wrestling, weightlifting and Taekwondo," said a DDA official.The complex offers an extensive range of indoor and outdoor games as well. The indoor facilities feature a state-of-the-art gymnasium and dedicated spaces for table tennis, yoga and aerobics. The outdoor facilities include six synthetic turf courts each for lawn tennis and badminton, four each for basketball and pickleball, and two each for netball and volleyball.The complex is also equipped with an open-air gym, a dedicated jogging or walking track, and an Olympic-size swimming pool measuring 50m x 25m. Future expansion will include a combined football and hockey ground, a synthetic athletic track, a skating rink, a speed track, and a children's park."There is a modern conference hall with high-speed internet and audio-visual equipment, with a seating capacity of 100, as well as a cafeteria, a restaurant and banqueting facilities for recreational purposes," said the official.Work is also on at three other sites -- the Centre of Excellence for aquatics at Rohini Sector 33; the Centre of Excellence for tennis and shooting at Dwarka Sector 19; and the Centre of Excellence for football and hockey at Dwarka Sector 23.At the launch of the CoE on Thursday, LG Saxena echoed the goal of ‘Fit India Movement', launched by PM Modi in 2019, which aims to encourage children and youth to actively participate in sports and incorporate fitness into their daily lives through various physical activities.Currently, DDA operates 17 sports complexes, which have a total membership of 53,386 members, excluding dependents, and are used by over 2 lakh people monthly. A total of 158 coaching schemes are operational at these complexes.