Manohar Kant (second from right), secretary, Rajasthan Sports Association, meets officials of the Tata Steel sports department at JRD Tata Sports Complex. Picture by Srinivas

Jamshedpur, Feb. 5: Rajasthan is set to aim it right. The state would soon house an archery hub on the lines of the Tata Archery Academy (TAA).

Arjuna award winner Limba Ram would be at the helm of affairs.

Manohar Kant, secretary of youth affairs and sports and chairman of the Rajasthan State Sports Council, is on a visit here and also met officials of the Tata Steel sports department and TAA today.

Impressed with the facilities provided here Kant said: “Three academies are on the cards in Jagatpur and Jaipur. TAA is a class institution and we could not start the project without seeing how it operates.”

The Jaipur Development Authority would fund Rs 15 crore for the construction of the three training institutes. The soft launch of the academy is scheduled for the last week of February.

“We have not given the green signal to the architects as yet. We wanted to look at the infrastructure facilities at the TAA first to get a clear picture,” added Kant. The secretary also hinted at exchange programmes with TAA.

“At first we want to solely concentrate on state archers. And once we are established, we would work on the lines of the TAA and induct cadets from other states as well. Although we did not have plans to make residential academies, but after seeing TAA, I have made up my mind to have residential facilities in at least one academy,” said Kant.

Ace archer Ram, who was also present at the meeting with Kant, said there were similarities between both Jharkhand and Rajasthan.

“Both the states have tribals who are very good at the sport. The only thing we lack is a complete infrastructure and training programmes. We are working on it,” said Ram.

Kant added that the state has been working on a cricket stadium, an all-weather pool, a velodrome and an indoor stadium.