Imphal: Hari Ranjan Rao, Sports Secretary of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports on Friday highlighted a major gap in India’s sports ecosystem, pointing to a shortage of qualified coaches, sports scientists, physiotherapists, and support staff across the country.
Rao made the remarks while serving as the chief guest at the 8th Foundation Day of the National Sports University (NSU), held at the Khuman Lampak Sports Complex in Imphal, Manipur.
The event was organised under the aegis of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India.
Emphasising the crucial role of NSU in nation-building, Rao said the university can address this gap by developing world-class human resources in sports and allied sciences.
“Institutions achieve excellence through people, not buildings alone,” he said, while praising the university’s state-of-the-art infrastructure.
Rao urged NSU to attract top global faculty and strengthen international collaborations, aiming to make it one of the world’s leading sports universities. He also lauded Manipur’s strong sporting culture, noting that India can learn from the state’s example in nurturing talent across all age groups.
He expressed confidence that NSU would become a preferred hub for national coaching camps and high-performance training, supported by sports science and sports psychology.
The function was also attended by Dr. Shobit Jain, IRS, Joint Secretary (Policy), Department of Sports, Padma Shri and Khel Ratna awardee Olympian Km. N. Kunjarani Devi, and Dr. Shyam Sundar Rath, Vice-Chancellor (O), National Sports University, who graced the event as Guests of Honour and President, respectively.