Soon, Jharkhand to have world-class sports varsity

Ranchi: A sports university on the pattern of the one in neighbouring Bihar will soon be established in Jharkhand to promote sports activities and train talents. On Friday, state chief secretary Alka Tiwari instructed officials to initiate the process of opening the sports university.

In a directive, Tiwari asked the officials to form a committee to study sports universities in other states, including the one at Rajgir in Bihar, and to establish a facility according to the needs of Jharkhand.

While addressing the 11th meeting of the governing council of the Jharkhand State Sports Promotion Society here, the chief secretary emphasized the proper utilisation of the existing infrastructure, including four indoor and six outdoor stadiums spread over 200 acres on the Khel Gaon premises. She also instructed the officials to focus on what can be improved to nurture the state's sporting talents.

The chief secretary, who returned from a 13-day-long trip to Spain and Sweden just two days ago, further suggested the initiation of efforts to connect children aged 4-5 years with sports academies, noting that in foreign countries, children were trained from around this age in their efforts to become international-level athletes.

During the meeting, the proposal to open a govt plus-2 school for the education of children associated with the sports academy was accepted, and the school education secretary was instructed to begin the process. "It was told at the meeting that the sports academy has the necessary infrastructure for running the plus-2 school. It requires only the deputation of teachers from the school education department," a communiqué issued by the state govt on Friday, said.

Notably, an MoU was signed in 2015 between the Jharkhand State Sports Promotion Society and the Central Coalfield Limited (CCL), with each contributing 50% for 30 years, to develop sporting talents in Jharkhand.

Under their joint auspices, talented students have been selected and provided with facilities for accommodation, meals, education and training in various sports at Ranchi's Khel Gaon since 2026.

"There is capacity for 1,400 children here, but currently, a total of 220 children, comprising 92 boys and 128 girls, are receiving training. There are 47 trainers and support staff. The chief secretary emphasized increasing the number of the trainers and the support staff," a senior official, who attended the meeting told, TOI.

It was also informed at the meeting that currently, training for 11 sporting disciplines is being provided at the sports academy. Training in four additional disciplines will also be offered as the process of selecting trainers is in its final stage. "From 2021-22 until now, 1,628 children trained at the sports academy, have won several medals in various competitions. These include four gold, four silver, and six bronze medals in international competitions; 74 gold, 70 silver, and 118 bronze medals in national competitions; and 763 gold, 352 silver, and 227 bronze medals in state-level competitions," the communiqué said.

During the meeting, CCL, a partner of the sports academy, proposed installing a 5-megawatt solar system in the Khel Gaon due to the high electricity consumption during the academy's activities and said the cost would be covered under the CSR fund of the PSU.

Principal secretary (home) Vandana Dadel, sports secretary Manoj Kumar, school education secretary Umashankar Singh, CCL CMD Nilendu Kumar Singh and officials associated with the sports academy also attended the meeting.