New Delhi, March 5 (IANS): Union Sports Minister Jitendra Singh Wednesday launched the Indian Cycling Academy at the Indira Gandhi velodrome here aimed at grooming upcoming talent in the country under one roof and making the facility an UCI (International Cycling Federation) approved facility.

The academy will be operational from April 1 and will be maintained by the Sports Authority of India (SAI), the sports ministry's nodal agency.

SAI, with the help of Cycling Federation of India (CFI), will identify and nurture 40 track cyclists across India and also take care of their accommodation and education.

India is one of the few Asian countries to have an indoor track, Japan and Korea being the others nations.

The sports minister was confident that the likes of Malaysia and Iran will come here to train rather than going to costlier venues like Australia. That way, the academy should be able to sustain itself.

"There is a lot of hidden cycling talent in the country. That is why we have come up with this idea of training the rising cyclists under one roof," Jitendra Singh said.

"Our aim will be to have many Asian countries training at our facility," he added.

R.K. Sharma, India's only coach with a UCI diploma, will be in charge of the academy and will have five trainers assisting him.

"It is the best thing to have happened to Indian cycling. I am confident the academy will help produce top-class cyclists," Sharma told IANS, adding UCI will monitor the activities here and take a decision on affiliating it.

The minister also announced that SAI will create swimming pools at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Indira Gandhi Sports Complex and the Karni Singh Shooting Range for the use of the trainees.