The Apollo Centre of Excellence for Sports Injuries & Orthopaedics was inaugurated on Friday at Apollo Hospitals’ Financial District facility here.

The state-of-the-art centre was inaugurated by Anil Kamineni, founder of KEI Group; Jayesh Ranjan, Special Chief Secretary, Sports Department, Government of Telangana; and members of the Sunrisers Hyderabad squad.

Speaking at the event, Jayesh Ranjan hailed the initiative, calling the presence of Sunrisers pacers Pat Cummins, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain, and Praful Hinge as a memorable occasion. 

“The Apollo Group has been making us proud for decades now, and this is yet another phenomenal center. It’s also a great idea to get all the fast bowlers for this event, because amongst cricketers, this is one lot which is the most injury-prone,” he said, adding, “we would like all sports to benefit from this. In fact, I’ll be proposing that we ask the Telangana Olympic Association to enter into a formal agreement with you.”

SRH captain Pat Cummins drew from his own experiences while underlining the importance of specialised sports medicine facilities for professional athletes.

“I’ve had quite a few injuries like most fast bowlers, mainly back injuries, stress fractures. To be honest, without a place like this, a very high caliber of care over the years, I definitely wouldn’t be in the position that I am right now,” he said.

“But it’s constant because they are mainly bone injuries, it’s screening and monitoring until you get it up to a level where you feel like you can start building up and get ready for the high intensity that an IPL match needs,” he said.

Harkaran Singh, chief operating officer of Apollo Hospitals, said the centre brings together a multi-disciplinary team of specialists aimed at ensuring faster recovery and improved outcomes for patients.