KIIT-KISS Becomes Trendsetter In The World of Sports; Names Sports Facilities After Legends

Bhubaneswar: KIIT DU is one of the premier centres for technical education in the country. The campus has also created a distinct identity for itselfin Sports because of its unmatched sporting infrastructure.

KIIT, along with its sister organisation KISS, has not only developed the best sports facilities amongst the universities but has groomed and nurtured Olympians and celebrated athletes. No wonder then, it has created several benchmarks to emulate  – one of them include naming its stadiums and sports arenas after the legends of sports.

In a pathbreaking initiative, KIIT-KISS announced early this month to name its newly developed spots facilities after well-known sportspersons who have made India proud in different games. It also named the multi-purpose indoor stadium after the legendary aviator and late chief minister of Odisha Biju Patnaik. The facilities were inaugurated by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on February 17.

With this, the University has earned the distinction of havingcreated the largest sporting infrastructure among all institutes. KIIT was conferred the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar 2022 for sustained focus towardsdevelopment of sports by the Government of India.

“We have set an example for others by naming the sports facilities after the sporting legends. This is a historic occasion for all of us. No other place in this country has so many sporting facilities named after so many sportspersons,” the Founder of KIIT and KISS Dr. Achyuta Samanta said, expressing his gratitude to the CM for inaugurating the sporting facilities.

The new facilities include the Dilip Tirkey Hockey Stadium;  Abhinav Bindra Indoor Shooting Range; Rahul Bose Rugby Stadium; Debasish Mohanty and Shiv Sundar Das Cricket  Stand; Viswanathan Anand Chess Hall; Leander Paes Tennis Stadium; Dutee Chand Athletic Stadium; Amiya Mallick Athletic Stand; Shrabani Nanda Athletic Stand; Minati Mahapatra Cycling Velodrome; Pramod Bhagat Badminton Indoor Hall and SradhanjaliSamantaray Football Stadium.

Significantly, except Anand and Bindra, all the sportspersons were present when the Odisha CM inaugurated the facilities named after them. They hailed the efforts of Dr Samanta, saying his decision to name the sporting facilities after the sporting legends in a university is unique. 

Leander Paes commended Dr Samanta for this initiative and for creating the sportsfacilities in the country including 25 tennis courts. He also said the CM is the biggest visionary of sports in the country.

 Hockey legend DilipTirkey, who is currently the Hockey India President, said he will continue to cherish the warmth of Dr Samanta in naming the hockey stadium at the campus after him. He also hailed his support for players like Dutee Chand and others that have made them international sports stars today. Sports, he said, help a person become disciplined and a good human being. 

Concurring with him, Rugby India President and actor Rahul Bose said sports not only transform youth into better persons but give the player the strength, the confidence and an opportunity to fight poverty and hunger. He cited a couple of stories to buttress his observations. He thanked Dr Samanta for naming the rugby stadium after him and expressed hope that the KIIT rugby team will one day win the Olympic medal.

 “People say they go to heaven after death, but I feel I got my heaven in this life. It has become possible in KIIT due to the efforts of Dr. Achyuta Samanta, the Founder of KIIT & KISS. Stadiums are generally named posthumously after legends, but at KIIT, stadiums have been named after living legends. Never did I imagine that an athletic stadium would be named after me. Along with education, sports activities at KIIT and KISS are encouraged and given equal importance,” said ace sprinter Dutee Chand.

“KIIT & KISS are the only Universities in India with huge international-level sports infrastructures and facilities. It has been possible in KIIT due to the efforts of Dr. Achyuta Samanta, the Founder of KIIT & KISS, because of his passion for sports. Today the Chief Minister inaugurated sports facilities and stadiums named after Legends. I am grateful to Samanta Sir for placing me among the legends,” said athlete Srabani Nanda.

Note: The article is written by the Brand Desk.