"We hope to raise the quality of Indian sports and teams at an international level with that Cuban cooperation," S. Harmilapi, director of Indias Sports Department, told Prensa Latina.

Cuba is worldwide known for the excellent training of its sportspeople, their high performance and outcomes, and that cooperation can be beneficial for the Indian development in that field, the executive stated.

The Indian official recalled that in a recent visit to the island, the Indian Minister of Youth and Sports signed a memorandum with a Cuba on sports cooperation.

The Cubans met with Indian sports officials and visited sports centers and complexes in New Dehli. On Thursday, they began a tour of several cities including Patiala, Pune, Bangalore and Gwalior.

At the end of the visit, the specialists will deliver a report to the Ministry of Youth and Sports to help the institution come up with a plan of action to improve the quality of training and preparation of the countrys athletes, said Harmilapi.

As part of the cooperation, Cuban boxing trainer Blas Iglesias is currently working directly with Indias national boxing team.

India managed to qualify two boxers for the Beijing 2008 Olympics "which is of great pride to us," said Harmilapi, adding that in the future he hopes to see more Cuban trainers in India.

(www.cubanews.ain.cu)