A state of the art badminton high performance centre (HPC) at Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneshwar is all set to be inaugurated soon. While stadium looks gorgeous and shows Odisha’s commitment to sports. It also takes the country one step closer to building that elusive sports culture she lacks.
The update was recently shared by Odisha Sports in a post made on X. They shared images of the shuttlecock shaped building which stands at a height of 28.40m.
https://x.com/sports_odisha/status/1831680172489101526
Built by the Dalmia Bharat Group in partnership with the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Foundation to set up a world-class badminton academy in the state, the foundation stone was laid by the then Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in February 2019. The building is placed on a glass cylinder, giving it a floating-cork (of shuttlecock) effect. Special illumination lights will be projected from the rooftop to give it a shuttlecock effect at night. The aerodynamic circular shape will help wind to flow away and reduce the maximum wind pressure from the façade.
The centre has eight badminton courts, a 500-seat capacity, a cafeteria, guest rooms, and a gymnasium and it will operate under the technical and coaching supervision of legendary badminton player and coach Pullela Gopichand.
This adds to the huge investment in sports infrastructure already being made in the state including the world class hockey facilities in Rourkela. There are multiple sports complexed coming up across the country on PPP model, including the Sardar Vallabhai Patel Sports Complex in Ahmedabad, which is the proposed host of the 2036 Olympics.
While many might consider this investment as wasteful, I commend the people and administration of these states who possess a mindset of abundance and have the vision to prepare for a future where sports culture in India develops. How that will happen is a tale for another post. But when that culture of excellence sets in, there will be a whole slew of infrastructure to help these athletes achieve their dreams. This is the secret (partly) behind the successes of China and Japan in the global stage.
Les Brown once said, “Its better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one, than to have an opportunity and not be prepared.”
I say let every state, every district, every city build such infrastructure. If you can, encourage creative designs rather than post WWII brutalistic architecture.
