The Koraput site where the proposed high altitude training centre will come up. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, Sept. 3: The success of high altitude training at Shilaroo in Himachal Pradesh will be replicated in Koraput.

The state government has proposed to set up such a centre in the hilly district of Koraput to facilitate training for sportspersons during summer.

The sports and youth services department’s proposal is expected to help the boarders of sports hostels in Sundargarh, Panposh, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack as they often find it difficult with the mercury crossing 40 degrees Celsius in summer.

A land of 23.23 acres has been identified in Koraput town. Of this, 12 acres, which house sports hostels, belong to the sports department. The department has asked the Koraput district collector to hand over the remaining land. Officials had made a visit to the site in June and recommended to have the centre by developing the existing facilities.

“The place is situated at an altitude of 2,900ft, and Koraput has a maximum temperature of 38 degrees Celsius and a minimum temperature of 12 degrees Celsius. Besides, Koraput is directly connected by train and road with all major towns, including Rourkela,” said sports consultant of the Odisha Council of Sports and former regional director of the Sports Authority of India V.V.S.N. Rao.

A sports department official said the Sports Authority of India was managing such a facility at 8,000ft at Shilaroo in Himachal Pardesh. The Rajiv Gandhi High Altitude Training Centre at Shilaroo near Shimla has a synthetic hockey surface to nurture the talents from across the country along with several training programmes.

The proposed centre in Koraput will have one synthetic hockey turf, one synthetic athletic track, archery training centre and fully furnished hostels to accommodate 50 boys and 50 girls.

“We have asked the Koraput district collector to allot the land in favour of the department,” said sports director D.V. Swamy.

Another official said the sports department would approach the industrial houses operating in the district to develop the existing facilities under their corporate social responsibility activities.

Though there are state-of-the-art facilities for hockey at the sports hostels in Rourkela and Panposh that have produced a number of talents of the state, the summer becomes a hurdle in training with the mercury often crossing 45 degrees Celsius.

“The idea of setting up a high altitude centre will definitely help the sportspersons. In summers, it will play a significant role in the grooming our sports talents,” said coach Nila Madhab Deo.

Veteran athlete Anuradha Biswal said: “It is a wonderful decision for our athletes and other sportspersons. We are usually sent to high altitude locations for training either within India or places in Russia.”

High altitude training centres in India:

Sports Authority of India's Rajiv Gandhi High Altitude Training Centre at Shilaroo near Shimla in Himachal Pradesh

Altitude: Situated at 9000ft, it boasts of India's highest hockey astroturf

Mecca of altitude training: Great Rift Valley in Kenya, where athletes arrive from across the world before key sports events such as the Olympics

Why altitude training works: Makes energy production in body more efficient

How it works: Training at altitude levels where the oxygen level is low allows athletes to
increase their red blood cell count. This enables them to compete more effectively at sea level because more oxygen is delivered to muscles

Renowned sportspersons who vouch for it:

Robbie McEwen, Tour De France winner
Shane Watson, Aussie Australia
Stephanie Rice, who won three gold medals at Beijing Olympics in 2008