By Qaiser Mohammad Ali, IANS
New Delhi : There is an unprecedented surge in sports activity in the militancy-ravaged state of Jammu and Kashmir, with more and more parents encouraging their children to take part in competitions and coaching camps.
Sports Authority of India (SAI), with assistance from the Jammu and Kashmir sports department and sports council, is behind this revival as it has appointed coaches for its various schemes in some of the worst affected districts like Baramulla, Poonch, Doda and Srinagar and has received a overwhelming response.
SAI director-general Ratan Prakash Watal said the schemes would continue as they have shown highly encouraging results.
“We have been trying to bring the state’s children and people in general into mainstream sports. The schemes would be sustained over a period of time as parents are showing a lot of interest in them,” Watal told IANS.
Encouraged by the SAI efforts, Jammu and Kashmir Sports Minister Babu Singh disclosed that he would be proposing jobs and attractive incentives for the talented players in the new state sports policy.
“I am planning to make provision for jobs for medal winners in national championships. The new policy should be out in about three months,” Singh told IANS on phone from Srinagar.
SAI has implemented its Sports Training Centre (STC), Special Area Games (SAG), National Sports Talent Contest (NSTC) and Non-Residential schemes, under which it is conducting camps and competitions for youngsters.
SAI director in-charge (northern region) S.S. Roy, who has implemented these schemes, is gung-ho about the future of sports in Jammu and Kashmir.
“It’ll not be an exaggeration to say that the state in undergoing a sports revolution of sorts because 15 years ago there was nothing here because of militancy. The picture completely different today,” he said.
“The idea is to involve more and more youth in sports in view of the potential and talent available in the state, especially in the militancy-affected areas of Baramulla, Poonch, Doda and Srinagar.”
SAI is also trying to acquire land for construction of a STC hostel in Udhampur and a new SAI training centre in Kathua.
Coaches who have been involved in camps/competitions in athletics, basketball, hockey, football, kabaddi, kho-kho and volleyball are all praise for the immense talent available in the state and the overwhelming response from locals.
Hockey coach Sham Lal Sharma said over telephone from Poonch: “I found it difficult to control the boys and girls who came at Poonch. For the first time, even girls attended the camp.”
“There has been tremendous response from parents and children. When a hockey camp was recently organised in Baramulla, a traditional hockey bastion, it seemed the whole city had congregated at the venue,” said Roy, who was present there.
SAI’s incentives in the form of hockey sticks and playing kits for youngsters have encouraged them. Similar incentives are on offer in others sports as well.
Another feature is the successful Non-Residential scheme. Under this, a trainee gets an annual stipend of Rs.6,000, competition exposure at a rate of Rs.3,000, sports kit worth Rs.4,000 besides personal insurance.
On the various coaching camps being organised, Roy said: “It is being done with a view to spot, identify and train talented youngsters and assess their potential for further training to excel at the national and international levels.”
SAI is also trying to adopt schools/colleges under its STC/SAG schemes to expand the net for talent scouting.
Government Higher Secondary School in Singpora, Baramulla, the Government Senior Secondary School in Palanwala, Jammu division, and Bhartiya Vidyamandir High School in Kishtwar have already been adopted.
To meet the recurring expenses, there is an allocation of Rs.100,000 per year for schools.
Basketball coach Aman Verma was pleasantly surprised at the response he received from the locals in Udhampur at the basketball trials and the subsequent camp.
“The venues under the STC schemes are always fully occupied by trainees in the evenings,” he said.
He lauded the SAI inter-hostel tournament for providing competition to the trainees.
Coach Mohinder Kumar Verma said: “At the recent trials to pick basketball trainees for a camp, 300 turned up in Srinagar and 200 in Baramulla. It was totally unexpected.”
Roy said his successful stint in the troubled north-eastern states of Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram between 1987 and 1991, when he was posted at Imphal, has come in handy while initiating the SAI schemes in Jammu and Kashmir.
And Babu Singh had the last word.
“These days youngsters are coming from all directions to participate in sports events. This has a lot to do with the ongoing peace process, which has changed the mindset of parents who are now encouraging their wards to play sports.”