Maharashtra Minister Harshwardhan Patil joins ISP as chief patron

Mumbai, Aug 4 (UNI) Indian Squash Professionals (ISP), a sports NGO, got a boost after Maharashtra Marketing Minister Harshwardhan Patil joined as its chief patron.

Speaking on the occasion here, Mr Patil said ''It is an honour. I am thankful to the association for giving me this opportunity. I will try my best to help and promote the game in the state.'' The Minister promised to allot a piece of land for the Squash Racquets Association of Maharashtra (SRAM) and ISP.

''I will try to allot six acres of land in the Kalina campus or at the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) or the Sports Authority of India (SAI) in Kandivili to form an academy,'' he said.

Elaborating on his plans for the development of the game in the state, Mr Patil said he would strive to see that all the 33 districts in Maharashtra, where district sports stadiums are being constructed, would have one squash court each.

He also said he would try and affiliate SRAM with Maharashtra Olympic Association so that squash could get a government grant, providing a further boost to the game.

ISP founder Mahendra Agarwal said with the government's back-up, it will be easy to popularise the game in rural areas also.

UNI