Raipur, 27 February 2021.Minister of Sports and Youth Welfare Shri Umesh Patel inaugurated the 19th State Level Shooting Competition at Mana Shooting Range of Chhattisgarh Armed Security Force 4th Battalion. This competition will run till 6 March. In the competition, 50m, 10m and 25m rifle pistol competitions for women, men and different age groups are being organized. The contestants who score the desired points as per the criteria set by the National Rifle Association of India, will be selected for the East Zone Shooting Championship to be held in West Bengal from March 11-14. The shooters who qualify for the East Zone Shooting Championship will be selected for the National Shooting Competition. The National Shooting Competition will be held in April 2021. The competition is being organized under joint aegis of Chhattisgarh Pradesh Rifle Association and Jindal Steel and Power Limited.
Minister Umesh Patel said on the occasion that the first priority of the state government is to provide better facilities to the players. He said that sportspersons are being encouraged by organizing various sports activities in the state. Efforts are being made to provide world class facilities to the players in Chhattisgarh. The players here are now illuminating the name of Chhattisgarh at the national and international level. He said that Sports Academy is being operated in Raipur. Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium, Parsada-Naya Raipur is an excellent example of world class facility. This cricket stadium is the second largest stadium in India, Which has an audience capacity of 60 thousand. Many national competitions including IPL have been organized in this stadium. Similarly, international hockey stadiums have been constructed in Rajnandgaon and Raipur. The state’s largest sports training center is under construction at Bilaspur. Outdoor, indoor stadium as well as athletic track, astro turf for hockey etc. are being constructed here. He said that under the Khelo India scheme, multi-purpose indoor halls are being constructed at Ambikapur and artificial athletic track at Mahasamund.