India’s First Indoor Athletics and Aquatic Centre: Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneshwar

India is home to some of the most diligent and determined athletes who put in their sweat and toil in preparing themselves for various competitions but sometimes due to unstable climatic conditions in the country, their training gets hampered. Where India has many open grounds and some training centres for athletics, it was yet to see an indoor athletic centre before March this year. The athletes need not worry about the fluctuating weather conditions as Bhubaneshwar recently got India’s first indoor athletics and aquatic centre where these athletes can train all year around.

Odisha's Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik, inaugurated the state-of-the-art Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar along with the aquatic centre and an indoor diving centre.  Not only equipped for training, the stadium has the facilities to host national and international athletic events. Built over an estimated cost of Rs. 120 crore, this stadium will have facilities worth Rs. 300 crore in the future as said by the Chief Minster back then. The stadium can accommodate over 120 athletes at one time and has residential accommodation. It even has classrooms for studies, medical facilities, and a dedicated pantry for athletes.

Sports that can be played here

In a first of its kind, a 10,000 sq. meter track was also built inside the stadium to carry track activites and their training. Track and Field events like long jump, triple jump, 100m, and 200m races, pole vault and shot put can be played here.

This stadium will be the training ground for the Odisha Reliance Foundation Athletics High-Performance Centre. The Athletics High-Performance Centre was established by the Reliance Foundation in association with the Odisha government in 2019 with an aim to develop athletics in Odisha and become the national athletics centre.

Indoor Aquatic Center

The indoor aquatic centre in the stadium complex has a 50-meter Olympic-size pool and a 25-meter warm-up pool with a temperature-control feature. It has a seating capacity of 1000 and can hold national and international events.

The Odisha Inspire Institute of Sport High-Performance Center which is a joint venture of the JSW group and the Odisha government will operate from this aquatic centre.

Indoor Diving Center

Along with these two structures, the chief minister also laid the foundation stone for an Indoor Diving Centre which will have a proposed temperature-controlled diving pool of 25 metres with an additional 5-meter pool for synchronised swimming.