Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Thursday unveiled plans for a world-class Tamil Nadu Olympic City in Chennai, describing it as a landmark project to transform the state into a global sporting powerhouse. The announcement was made in the State Assembly under Rule 110.
Alongside the Olympic City, Vijay also announced a dedicated Motorsports City that will host Formula 4 races, strengthening Chennai's position as India's motorsports hub.
Olympic City To Feature Elite Training Ecosystem
The sports project will be implemented by the Tamil Nadu Sports Development Authority with a concept of integration campus for athletes preparing for the Olympics and other international competitions.
The Olympic City will include world-class sports arenas, a High Performance Training Centre, advanced sporting equipment, specialised Sports Science and Sports Medicine centres, and modern residential facilities for athletes and coaches.
The initiative aims to provide international-standard training and scientific support to help sportspersons from Tamil Nadu win more medals at global sporting events.
Formula 4 Races Planned In Chennai
CM Vijay announced that Chennai will also get a dedicated Motorsports City designed to host Formula 4 racing.
The announcement comes months after the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports constituted a task force to revive Formula 1 in India.
"We will try to bring back F1 in India by 2028. For this, we created a task force which monitors motor sports in the country and submits its report to the Ministry," an MYAS source told ANI.
Earlier, Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) President Arindam Ghosh had said discussions with the Sports Ministry were focused on bringing Formula 1, MotoGP and a round of the World Rally Championship (WRC) back to India.
"The meeting with Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of State Raksha Khadse, senior officials and potential stakeholders in New Delhi, focused primarily on bringing F1, MotoGP and a round of the WRC to India."
"The Federation stressed the need to develop Indian drivers and the overall development of motorsports in India, and the FMSCI's inputs were well received," he added.
Vijay Moves Resolution On Tamil In Madras High Court
In another major decision, the Chief Minister moved a resolution urging the Union Government to recognise Tamil as the principal language of the Madras High Court.
The resolution aims at permitting filing of petitions, affidavits and oral advocacy in Tamil, granting court pronouncements and orders in Tamil, and imparting language training and translation facilities to Judges, Advocates and court officials.
CM Vijay informed the House that a similar resolution was passed unanimously in 2006, but the proposal was later not approved after being referred to the Supreme Court.