The Sports Authority of India's Training Centre in Dimapur, Nagaland, will be upgraded to a National Centre of Excellence (NCOE) following an MoU with the state government. This multi-phase development will transform the 64-acre Multi-Disciplinary Sports Complex, providing enhanced facilities for athletes in various disciplines.
The contingent comprises 277 men and 247 women athletes. In the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, the Indian contingent featured 541 athletes across 28 disciplines.
The government stuck to its decision not to name any manager for 23 out of the 28 disciplines in which India are taking part in the upcoming Asian Games even though the Indian Olympic Association and National Sports Federations slammed the move.
Earlier, the IOA Secretary General Rajeev Mehta said expenses of the ceremonial dress and playing kits of the athletes do not come from its coffers. He claimed that cost will be borne by the sponsors who have signed a contract with it to deal with only the affiliated federations.
The Sports Authority of India (SAI) has recommended slashing the country's proposed Asian Games delegation by a third and sending only medal hopefuls to South Korea's Incheon later this month.
Deputy Chef de Mission Balbir Singh Kushwaha said that facilities at the Games Village were good.
In a significant but tricky move, Sports Minister Vijay Goel has said that a resolution has been passed to transfer sports from the State List of the Indian Constitution to the Concurrent List in a meeting of the National Sports Federations called by the government in New Delhi.
A round-up of Indians' showing on the fifth day of the 17th Asian Games, in Incheon, on Wednesday.
The haul of 64 medals at the Commonwealth Games, in July-August, which included 15 gold, should act as the ideal springboard for the Indian contingent to better its medal tally at Guangzhou, China, four years ago.