The Abhinav Bindra Foundation Trust announced the opening of the SAI-Abhinav Bindra Targeting Performance Centre at the Padukone-Dravid Centre for Sports Excellence in Bengaluru on Saturday.
The centre has been designed by former rifle shooter and world and Olympic champion Bindra. The purchase of the equipment deployed in the centre has been funded by the Sports Authority of India through the National Sports Development Fund.
The centre was inaugurated by Prakash Padukone and Rahul Dravid, with Paralympic gold medallists Murlikant Petkar and Devendra Jhajharia present as Guests of Honour.
The centre will feature advanced equipment from tecnobody, including the first ever deployment of the digital wall in the world. It also houses a pilates studio, EMS training and a cryo-chamber, which enables whole-body cryotherapy, to aid recovery.
The facilities will be made available free of cost to designated elite Indian athletes through a partnership with the Sports Authority of India, and will support the various academies at the Padukone-Dravid Centre for Sports Excellence and will also be open for public use.
Speaking on the occasion, Bindra said, "I am delighted and excited to bring the Targeting Performance Centre to life at the Padukone-Dravid Centre for Sports Excellence in Bengaluru.
"This centre, along with those in Chandigarh and New Delhi, are the first hubs of a network of such facilities I would like to deploy across the country. I was fortunate to be able to personally use this equipment and received the support of sports science at all stages on my road to the Olympics.
"Having experienced the benefits of leaving no stone unturned, I wanted to in turn make similar services available to my fellow athletes."
Bindra created history when he became the first Indian to win an individual Olympic gold medal at the 2008 Bejing Games.
"In designing the centre, I have kept in mind the needs of the elite athlete as much as I have those of the general user. I believe that making sports science easily accessible holds a key to our nation's sporting future and I am delighted and grateful for the support of the Sports Authority of India in bringing this particular centre to life."
Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore sent a message saying, "This is a significant step in the direction of providing world class facilities to our athletes. Abhinav Bindra shares government's priority of providing Suvidha and Samman to the athletes.
"I hope this facility is used by the athletes in realising their full potential."
The centre will be fully operational from January 1, 2018 and is expected to attract the cream of the country's elite athletes for assessments, training and injury rehabilitation.
It will also have medical support services such as equipment-aided physiotherapy and rehabilitation programmes for members of the public to use.
