Gouri Shankar Prasad, CEO of Rourkela Steel Plant, at the summer coaching camp on Tuesday at Ispat Stadium in Rourkela. Picture by Uttam Kumar Pal

Rourkela, May 9: Over 1,250 students from here as well as from nearby areas have taken part at a summer coaching camp organised by the Rourkela Steel Plant in the city.

This 21-day camp, which started on May 6, will continue till May 26 at various venues across the city. The students are being trained in various sports.

Officials of the steel plant said that the students are learning the nuances in 14 disciplines of sports such as athletics, badminton, basketball, body building, boxing, chess, cricket, cycling, football, hockey, kabaddi, table tennis, volleyball and weight and power lifting.

Expert coaches have been chosen to train the students. The events is being organised at Ispat Stadium, Basketball Complex, Biju Patnaik Hockey Stadium, Ispat Indoor Stadium and the chess hall of the Ispat Stadium.

The main feature for this year’s summer camp is yoga and meditation session to be held everyday prior to the activities. This will make the students mentally strong said an officer of the steel plant responsible for organising such events.

Inaugurating the summer camp, chief executive officer of Rourkela Steel Plant G.S. Prasad said that it was a hallmark event of the sporting culture of Rourkela. He unfurled the sports flag on May 6 to formally inaugurate the event.

“The motto of organising this summer camp is to identify sporting talents at a young age and nurture them providing proper training and other helps so that they can perform at national and international levels,” said Prasad.

Urging the participants to utilise the opportunity, he said that Rourkela Steel Plant had provided a platform to the budding talents and it’s their turn to grab it.

The summer coaching camp that started in 1986 by Rourkela Steel Plant with limited participation in different disciplines has grown both in size and stature and has reached its 29th edition this year.

The officials said that the camp had produced many sportspersons of national and international repute in the past and is continuing to bring to the limelight many budding sports stars.