The Axis Bank
Sanjeeva Singh Olympic Archery Centre in eastern Uttar Pradesh will create a
first-of-its-kind high-performance ecosystem combining Olympic-grade
infrastructure, sports science, residential training and education to nurture
future generations of Indian archers.
Mumbai: In a landmark step towards strengthening India’s
Olympic sporting ambitions, Axis Bank, one of the largest private sector banks
in India, in partnership with the Sanjeeva Singh Archery Institute Trust
(SSAIT), today announced the development of the Axis Bank Sanjeeva
Singh Olympic Archery Centre in Kanhauli, Eastern Uttar Pradesh.
Envisioned as
India’s first fully integrated Olympic-standard archery centre in a
rural setting, the Centre aims to create a direct pathway from grassroots
talent identification to elite international competition by bringing
world-class training infrastructure, sports science, residential facilities and
education together in one campus.
Supported by
Axis Bank, the project will be developed over a three-year period and will scale
SSAIT’s existing archery ecosystem to make it a world-class high-performance
centre built to international standards. The initiative will expand access to top-tier
sporting infrastructure beyond metropolitan centres, while creating new
pathways for talented athletes from underserved regions.
India's
archery success story has increasingly emerged from rural and tribal regions,
yet access to high-performance training infrastructure remains concentrated in
a limited number of locations. Led by Sanjeeva Singh, Olympian and recipient of
both the Arjuna and Dronacharya Awards, the Centre seeks to address this gap by
establishing a world-class sporting destination in eastern Uttar Pradesh,
making advanced coaching, sports science and competition-ready infrastructure
accessible to aspiring athletes closer to their homes. Located less than 45 km
from Gorakhpur Airport, the Centre is expected to serve as a regional hub for
talent identification and advance training across eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,
northern Chhattisgarh and north-eastern Madhya Pradesh.
The Centre
will feature Olympic-standard indoor and outdoor archery ranges,
competition-grade infrastructure, advanced simulation capabilities for training
under tournament conditions, and sustainable athlete-friendly facilities.
Supported by a dedicated control room, climate-controlled training spaces and
integrated monitoring systems, the facility is designed to enable year-round
training and competition readiness. Integrated with a 100-bed residential wing,
it will host training camps, selection trials and competitions, and has been
benchmarked against leading archery institutions in South Korea, USA, UK and
Switzerland. A key differentiator will be its internationally benchmarked
sports-science ecosystem, featuring advanced performance analytics, physiological
monitoring, 3D shot analysis and specialised athlete-development tools to
support precision training and high-performance outcomes.
Speaking on
the occasion, Vijay Mulbagal, Group Head - Wholesale Bank Coverage,
Corporate Salary, Sustainability & CSR, Axis Bank, said, “Access
to world-class infrastructure can transform sporting potential into sporting
excellence. Through the Axis Bank Sanjeeva Singh Olympic Archery Centre, we are
helping create a first-of-its-kind ecosystem that brings together world-class
facilities, sports science, education and residential training within a single
campus. Our vision is not merely to build a training centre, but to help create
an enduring platform that can identify, nurture and prepare talented young
athletes from rural India to compete at the highest levels of global sport.”
“Legacy is
not what we keep, but what we give. As a player, and later as a coach, I always
felt the absence of one fully integrated facility — somewhere an archer could
train, study and live under a single roof. That gap is now turning
into reality, thanks to our partner Axis Bank, and to our foundation partners —
SBI Foundation, Indian Oil, ONGC, and the Asha & Sajjan Agarwal Foundation.
Whatever I felt was missing during my own playing and coaching years, we have
tried to ensure that no Indian archer dreaming of the Olympics has
to face again.” said Sanjeeva Singh, Founder
and Chairman Trustee, SSAIT.
Aligned with the Government of India's Khelo Bharat Niti 2025
and the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), the Centre is expected to support
around 100 resident athletes annually while hosting over 300 Indian and
international athletes through coaching camps, competitions and
high-performance programmes. More than creating infrastructure, the initiative
aims to help redefine how sporting talent is nurtured in India by bringing
globally benchmarked training systems to a rural setting and building a
sustainable pipeline of future champions.