Union Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs Anurag Thakur has said that in the last eight years the central government has provided basic facilities in the field of sports in the country.

He was speaking after inaugurating the Khashaba Jadhav Sports Complex in the premises of Savitribai Phule Pune University in Pune today. As part of this, budget allocation for Khelo India has been increased from Rs 657 crore last year to Rs 974 crore, he said. At present, there are four hundred and fifty Khelo India centers in the country. With contributions from the states, if we build one thousand such centers it will greatly contribute to the development of sports, Thakur said. He declared that renowned former players will be given five lakh rupees to run such centers that will impart training to the budding talents. Mr. Thakur also unveiled a full-sized statue of Olympian wrestler Khashaba Jadhav and Swami Vivekananda at Pune University. Noting that not only in the Olympics but also in the Paralympics last year India made its mark by winning the highest number of medals so far. He also expressed confidence that Pune University would become the top university in the country in the field of sports in the near future. Thakur also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is credited with convincing the world of the importance of yoga which is now being spread globally.

Vice-Chancellor Dr. Karbhari Kale, MP Girish Bapat, and Pune were among the dignitaries present on the occasion. Earlier, the university students performed a yoga demonstration. The sports complex is spread in an area of 27 acres with world class infrastructure.