In Mumbai today, India and Australia announced a new sports cooperation alliance. The Partnership, launched in the presence of the cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar, by the Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports, Mr. Vijay Goel, and the visiting Prime Minister of Australia, Mr. Malcolm Turnbull, will promote cooperation between India and Australia in four areas – sports and coaching training and development, sports science, sports governance and integrity, and grassroots participation.”
Sports Minister Vijay Goel said on the occasion that “in the area of sports we have a lot to learn and share in Australia. The sports partner India-Australia would facilitate exchanges between two countries of athletes, coaches, technical officers, and sports scientists.”
India has begun to take sport as a key component of public health and education management. “We started a major grassroots program – Khelo India – to build a grassroots sports culture. We plan to make sports a mandatory topic in schools,” he said.
The Minister said that the ID and development portal of the National Sports Talents will be initiated shortly. Under the new partnership between Victoria University and The University of Canberra, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said that he will be involved in helping India establish a National Sports University similar to the Institute.
The young girls from the slums of Mumbai, who are being taught to play sports by Apnalaya, an institution with which Sachin Tendulkar’s bondwoman, Annabel Mehta, is associated, also met Mr. Turnbull and Mr. Goel. The Australian PM commended the report that sport creates social capital.
Mr. Turnbull said that India, now evolving as an economic superpower, is extremely important in the region after his four-day visit. “My journey deepened Australia-India cooperation in the fields of economics, sports, healthcare, science, and education,” he said.
