Hyderabad, Sept.22 (NSS): World Boxing Champion & Olympic athlete Nikhat Zareen, accompanied by her parents, paid a courtesy visit to Telangana Government Advisor Mohammed Ali Shabbir at his residence in Jubilee Hills on Sunday. Zareen expressed her gratitude to Shabbir Ali for his efforts in securing her appointment as Deputy Superintendent of Police (Special Police) in Telangana, a position she recently assumed.
During the interaction, Mohammed Ali Shabbir outlined Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s vision for the future of sports in the State. He announced that a sports university would be established in the next academic year to produce Olympic-level athletes. He said international coaches would be brought in to train aspiring athletes and develop a world-class sports ecosystem.
Shabbir Ali praised CM Revanth Reddy for demanding the Centre to bid for 2036 Summer Olympics and host the event in Hyderabad. He reiterated the state government’s commitment to building top-tier sports infrastructure and promoting young talent, especially from rural areas. “We want to make Hyderabad the hub for sports and games in the entire country,” he said.
Shabbir Ali said that the state government wants to restore the glory of the Gachibowli sports village, which had previously hosted the Afro-Asian Games in 2000 and the World Military Games. He highlighted the need to upgrade existing stadiums in Hyderabad, which are often underutilised for sports and used for political or private events. He said preliminary discussions with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) regarding the construction of an international cricket stadium in Bagari Kanche, Hyderabad, had also been positive.
He said Rs 321 crore had been allocated in the 2024-25 budget for sports development. The State’s new sports policy, inspired by successful models from States like Haryana, focuses on creating sports infrastructure, including the construction of stadiums at Mandal headquarters.
