National badminton coach Pullela Gopichand feels that Indian athletes no longer have to worry about the basic facilities that he had to struggle for in his playing days.


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"All my life I have struggled to get basic sports facilities. I am glad today's generation don't have to struggle for this. Sports today has great future," Gopichand said on Wednesday at a workshop organised by the Andhra Pradesh government where it declared that the state's future capital Amaravati will be developed as a "world-class sports city" capable of hosting the Olympics.


"We need to ensure that kids taking up sports need to be incentivised so that they can lead a good life. Kids need to learn discipline and sports is fundamental for this. It is not necessary to create champions but to create an environment where everyone- kids and adults- enjoy sports. Remember sports increases a nation's happiness index and improves quality of life," he added. 


Speaking on the development of Amaravati as a sports hub, Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority Commissioner Sreedhar Cherukuri said the initiative will be completed by 2021.


"We are developing a Sports City in Amaravati which will come in three phases and will comprise of an integrated sports hub spread in 20 acres with an estimated cost of Rs 1,400 crore, a multi-purpose sports stadium, multi-purpose training campus," he said. "Amaravati International Sports Complex, a Rs 60 crore complex, will also be built on 8.9 acres which will revolutionise sports in Andhra Pradesh. Phase I will be ready by 2021," he added.