Nearly every district headquarters in Chhattisgarh has a “mini-stadium”, used for cricket and football. In May last year, the administration of Bijapur, among the districts worst affected by left-wing violence in the country, decided to build in one such mini-stadium the Bijapur Sports Academy. Eight months later, it has over 240 students, training in 10 sports, under head coaches accredited by the Sports Authority of India (SAI). Of them, 17 have made it to the national level and four have won medals. At the state level, the medals tally of Bijapur Sports Academy trainees stands at 45.
Bijapur District Collector Ayyaz Tamboli says the motive for opening the academy goes beyond sports. “There were largescale dropouts from school because of lack of interest. This is one of the many methods to combat that.”
They hired accredited coaches who could zone in on the natural talent available, he adds. “Children here have natural athletic ability, and have an advantage when it comes to sports like archery. By 2020, we are planning to create a full-fledged 500-seater education and sports city in Bijapur.”
Read more of this encouraging story by Dipankar Ghose published in The Indian Express....
