India’s only international level ice skating rink at Maharana Pratap Sports College was inaugurated by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Sports Minister Rekha Arya on Monday. The ice rink, which was closed for about a decade, has been reconstructed at a cost of about Rs 6 crore. During this, the horse riding ground (equestrian) built at a cost of 599 lakhs in the sports college itself was also inaugurated. Chief Minister Dhami said that both the achievements would prove to be a matter of pride not only for Uttarakhand but also for India. He recalled that the South-Eastern Asian Winter Games were organized in the ice skating rink built in the year 2011. In which players from countries like Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives and Sri Lanka including India participated. But the rink was closed due to lack of maintenance, but the state government resolved to restart it as part of its resolve to establish Uttarakhand as a ‘sports land’. Engineers were also called from abroad for this. To meet the electricity requirement of the rink, a one megawatt solar plant has been installed, which will operate it on the theme of Green Games. He described the rink as the largest skating rink not only in India but also in South Asia.
At the same time, Sports Minister Arya said that many big sports facilities have been prepared during the National Games. Now with the opening of the ice rink and horse riding ground, the sports heritage of the state has become more prosperous. The Ice Skating Federation of India has sent a proposal for organizing games in the rink, so that national and international level competitions can be organized in the coming time. On this occasion, an ice hockey match was also played as an exhibition. Raipur MLA Umesh Sharma Kau, Special Principal Secretary Amit Sinha, Additional Secretary Prashant Arya and former players were present on this occasion.
Pitthu teams were sent off
Sports Minister Arya flagged off the teams of Uttarakhand going to participate in the National Senior Men-Women and Sub Junior Boys-Girls Pitthu Championship from the Pavilion Ground. This championship will be held in Indore, Madhya Pradesh from May 7 to 9. The Sports Minister called upon the players to bring glory to the state by winning medals. He said that Pitthu will also be played at the international level in the coming times. For this, the players will have to start preparing from now onwards.
