Pune: Maharashtra's first international sports university will be constructed in Pune’s Balewadi Stadium and will begin functioning from the academic session 2021-22.

The Balewadi-based Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, which hosted the Commonwealth Youth Games in 2008, will be upgraded to sports university, which will bring trainers and researchers in various sports fields under one roof, he said.

The knowledge hub will bring together facilities of various sports and help in research to bring up international level sports-persons, state Sports Minister Sunil Kedar informed media persons in Mumbai on Thursday.

The Maharashtra cabinet last week accepted a draft bill for the constitution of the international sports university and it was passed in the winter session of the state Legislature recently. The state government had declared in the budget that such a university will be build.

All facilities will be on par with international levels so that players get quality training and inputs, Kedar informed. While the university will have some permanent posts, including Vice Chancellor (VC) and registrar, some experts of the international expertise will also be hired on contractual basis, he added.

Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex was constructed within 53 acres at Balewadi, in 1995 to host the National Games. In 2006, the sports complex was renovated and it hosted the Commonwealth Youth Games in 2008. Chhatrapati Sports Complex currently has multiple facilities for sports such as athletics, swimming, football, badminton, basketball, boxing, table tennis hall, tennis, weightlifting to name a few.