Ranchi: The year 2021 may have been ravaged by the pandemic Covid-19 which killed hundreds of people across the state, but it came as a silver lining for the state’s sporting culture.
From the embarrassing lows of the first lockdown in 2020, where national-level athletes such as karate player Vimla Munda was forced to sell rice beer on the outskirts of Ranchi due to poverty, Jharkhand’s girls were rubbing shoulders with the world’s best in the Tokyo Olympics in their quest to earn medals for the country in 2021.
For the first time, Jharkhand sent three girls to the Olympics. While champion archer Deepika Kumari entered the ring as a favourite, she crashed out from the individual and team events after a poor show. However, hockey players Nikki Pradhan and Salima Tete kept the hopes alive as the Indian women’s hockey team narrowly missed out on a bronze. Before the Olympics, Jamshedpur-born Komalika Bari won the World Archery Championships along with Deepika.
Despite narrowly missing out on a medal, Pradhan and Tete were given cash prizes worth Rs 50 lakh each for their gritty performances by the state government. The government also announced that their kuccha homes in rural Khunti and Simdega will be rebuilt into pucca houses by the respective district administrations.
In March this year, the Hemant Soren government handed appointment letters in Jharkhand police to 40 athletes of various sporting disciplines. “It is just the beginning. With time, we will provide lateral entries to athletes, who excelled at various levels, in government jobs so that they do not have to sell hariya by the roadside,” Soren had said. According to the sports department, applications of 50 more athletes are under consideration.
The government showed positive intent by recruiting sports officers for 24 districts of the state. “This was the first time in Jharkhand’s history that the DSOs were recruited,” a senior official in the department said.
Eyeing a long-term development programme for the state’s football, the Jharkhand government entered into talks with the All India Football Federation (AIFF). “Due to the state government’s proactive efforts, the AIFF moved its national camps for the Indian squads which will take part in the senior women’s AFC camp in 2022 and the U-17 women’s junior world cup. The idea is to develop the state into a footballing epicenter and give local talents as much opportunity as possible,” the official said.
Earlier this month, the government rolled out Sahay, a scheme which aims to dissuade the youngsters in LWE affected areas from joining the violence by taking up sports. The Rs 10-crore scheme aims to host panchayat and block-level tournaments in football, hockey, volleyball and athletics. Panchayat and block-level teams will lock horns in local tournaments which will then culminate into state-level tourneys. The winners (in team events and individual disciplines) will then be absorbed into the state run residential and training facilities and will be groomed for state and national-level competitions).
“Despite the pandemic which left very little opportunities for practice, our boys and girls did exceptionally well in national and international stages. The state hosted various international and national sporting events too. Overall, the year was promising for the state’s sports,” Jharkhand Olympic Association president Madhukant Pathak said.
From the embarrassing lows of the first lockdown in 2020, where national-level athletes such as karate player Vimla Munda was forced to sell rice beer on the outskirts of Ranchi due to poverty, Jharkhand’s girls were rubbing shoulders with the world’s best in the Tokyo Olympics in their quest to earn medals for the country in 2021.
For the first time, Jharkhand sent three girls to the Olympics. While champion archer Deepika Kumari entered the ring as a favourite, she crashed out from the individual and team events after a poor show. However, hockey players Nikki Pradhan and Salima Tete kept the hopes alive as the Indian women’s hockey team narrowly missed out on a bronze. Before the Olympics, Jamshedpur-born Komalika Bari won the World Archery Championships along with Deepika.
Despite narrowly missing out on a medal, Pradhan and Tete were given cash prizes worth Rs 50 lakh each for their gritty performances by the state government. The government also announced that their kuccha homes in rural Khunti and Simdega will be rebuilt into pucca houses by the respective district administrations.
In March this year, the Hemant Soren government handed appointment letters in Jharkhand police to 40 athletes of various sporting disciplines. “It is just the beginning. With time, we will provide lateral entries to athletes, who excelled at various levels, in government jobs so that they do not have to sell hariya by the roadside,” Soren had said. According to the sports department, applications of 50 more athletes are under consideration.
The government showed positive intent by recruiting sports officers for 24 districts of the state. “This was the first time in Jharkhand’s history that the DSOs were recruited,” a senior official in the department said.
Eyeing a long-term development programme for the state’s football, the Jharkhand government entered into talks with the All India Football Federation (AIFF). “Due to the state government’s proactive efforts, the AIFF moved its national camps for the Indian squads which will take part in the senior women’s AFC camp in 2022 and the U-17 women’s junior world cup. The idea is to develop the state into a footballing epicenter and give local talents as much opportunity as possible,” the official said.
Earlier this month, the government rolled out Sahay, a scheme which aims to dissuade the youngsters in LWE affected areas from joining the violence by taking up sports. The Rs 10-crore scheme aims to host panchayat and block-level tournaments in football, hockey, volleyball and athletics. Panchayat and block-level teams will lock horns in local tournaments which will then culminate into state-level tourneys. The winners (in team events and individual disciplines) will then be absorbed into the state run residential and training facilities and will be groomed for state and national-level competitions).
“Despite the pandemic which left very little opportunities for practice, our boys and girls did exceptionally well in national and international stages. The state hosted various international and national sporting events too. Overall, the year was promising for the state’s sports,” Jharkhand Olympic Association president Madhukant Pathak said.
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