Agra: The Eklavya Sports Stadium here now has a world-class infrastructure for hockey. State minister for sports and youth welfare Chetan Chauhan on Saturday inaugurated country’s first 5-A-side hockey Astro Turf at the stadium. The Rs 6.26 crore project was funded by the state government. It took two years for developing the facility.According to state sports director RP Singh, work on developing the 47 by 78 square meter hockey artificial turf was done under the supervision of experts as per international standards. The remaining work of installing floodlights for conducting matches in the evening will be completed soon. The 5-A-side (four outfield players and one goalkeeper in each team) is a fast-paced format of hockey rapidly gaining popularity worldwide.Sports minister Chauhan said, “The state-of-the-art facilities for hockey at Eklavya Stadium will prove to be highly beneficial in promoting the sport. It will provide local talent an opportunity to improve their skills. Now, Agra will be able to host national and international hockey matches. Adequate facilities have been developed for training camps of players.”Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibre made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally played on grass. The main reason for switching to artificial turf is maintenance — artificial turf stands up to heavy use and requires no irrigation or trimming.Hockey artificial turf differs from artificial turf for other sports inasmuch as it does not try to reproduce a grass "feel", being made of shorter fibre. This shorter fibre structure allows improvement in speed and intensity of play.The sports minister, who is also a former cricketer, said, “I am the first international player to have become a sports minister. I am well aware of the problems faced by sportsmen. Government of Uttar Pradesh has taken several steps for promotion of sports and welfare of sportsmen. In this regard, chief minister Yogi Aditynath takes a keen interest. Doors have been opened for special requirement of sportsmen in 11 departments.“A total of 44 sportsmen from UP participated in the recently held Asian Games. State government will award Rs 5 lakh to each of them. Besides those who bagged a gold medal will be given Rs 50 lakh, for silver medal Rs 30 lakh and Rs 20 lakh for bronze. Those who will win an Olympic gold medal will be awarded Rs 6 crore, silver, Rs 4 crore and bronze, Rs 2 crore. All the deserving sportsmen will be provided a pension of Rs 20,000 per month,” Chauhan said.The state government is also planning to develop academies for nurturing sporting talents.The inauguration ceremony was chaired by chairman of the National Commission for Schedule Castes (NCSC) and Agra MP Ramshanker Katheria, Olympian and Arjuna Award-winning hockey player Jagbir Singh, former state cabinet minister Aridaman Singh, Agra Cantt MLA GS Dharmesh and others.

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