PLAYERS ARE WINNING MEDALS DESPITE LACK OF SPORTS RESOURCES IN BHOJPUR DISTRICT

PLAYERS ARE WINNING MEDALS DESPITE LACK OF SPORTS RESOURCES IN BHOJPUR DISTRICT

29-AUG-ENG 2

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA----------------------------Bhojpur district is one of the oldest districts but due to indifferent attitude of district administration and people’s representatives, it did not develop as much as it should be especially in the field of sports the district remained completely backward while there is no dearth of talented players who off and on bring laurel for the district.

After much effort, Ara, headquarters of Bhojpur district got one indoor stadium named as ‘Khel Bhawan’. The building was constructed near the residence of Bhojpur District Magistrate with the facilities of wrestling, Kabaddi, Judo-karate, Wu-shu, Kho-Kho, Yoga and weight lifting only but the players of other mode are still to wait. Overall, there is a lack of infrastructure for sport in Bhojpur district still and players are devoid of facilities. The players of the district are doing quite fair on the strength of hard work, dedication and efforts and ensuring participation at the national level as well and getting medals. If they are provided with latest technology and facilities, they would have got wings and ensure their presence felt at national and international level but this is not possible due to administrative and government apathy, the future of the players is not being able to ride properly.

Efforts are being made for the last few years to build a sports stadium on a large scale at Dhanupura. The local MP and Union Minister Raj Kumar Singh has announced to build a sports complex but no significance progress is at sight. The progress is not being made in this scheme due to non-availability of land and players are not getting facilities though Raj Kumar Singh is determined to build sports complex of International level at Dharahara.

An outdoor stadium named after Veer Kuer Singh, is situated at the heart of Ara on the campus of Ramana Maidan though this stadium has no proper facility. It has only boundary wall and some stairs.

The Bhojpur district has no shooting range despite the players of archery somehow manage with their resources and practice and earned name at national level on the strength of their sports latent and practice and got their names written in the medal table. Neeraj Kumar Singh, trainer of archery imparts training to these archery players. The archery players were selected for training under the Eklavya Scheme of the Bihar government and also under ‘Khelo India’ scheme of the Central Government but their training could not be started so far causing great disappointment among the players of the district. If it was arranged, talent of players would have come to the fore even more.

As per the government figures, construction of stadium was started in one or two blocks out of 14 blocks in Bhojpur district but nothing is seen on the ground while the government has announced to build stadiums in all blocks so that talents in sports can be developed from rural areas as well and could earn their names in sports too while no progress has been made in this direction due to lack of administrative seriousness.

Besides, the Bhojpur district has no coach for any sport at government level due to which the players are not getting the required training. Many players try and practice on their own but despite this they get success. Passion and hard work are the keys of their success.

Two schemes are running in Bhojpur district to encourage sportspersons:-one is Eklavya scheme by the Bihar government and another is Khelo India by the Central government but they are on paper and statement and nothing visible on the ground. Players are tantalized with hallow promises and sometimes given sop.

The hyper condition of the stadiums constructed in 9 out of 14 blocks of Bhojpur district is very bad and players are getting any benefit. These stadiums are just for show. Some stadiums are filled with water and some have no walls. Only government and the local administration van tell what will happen to the practice of players and also what will happen to their talent in such a situation. Resentment prevails among the players against the apathy of the government and the local administration as only false assurance constructed the stadiums. Proposals for the construction of the stadiums in the nine of fourteen blocks including at Piro Padav of Piro block, Bihia and Jadavpur of Bihia block, Sahar block, Sanadesh block headquarters. Stadium is there only worth the name and no such thing as stadium in the rest of the block.

The archery coach, Neeraj Kumar Singh said that Bhojpur district has a lot of talented players who have brought laurels to the district and Bihar too several times.  He said that arrangements are improving for the indoor games in the district but still the outdoor games have no facility. He added that Veer Kuer Singh stadium is situated in the heart of Ara town but till date it is not being properly maintained. It has no security arrangement and the whole stadium gets filled with water in the rainy season and players remain worried for about their practice for three to four months. He said that he has been imparting training in archery to players for the last ten years but never charge any money though he has not got officials recognition yet.

Sanjeev Kumar Singh, District Sports Officer, said that stadiums have been constructed in nine blocks of fourteen blocks of Bhojpur district though all are in dilapidated condition. He apprised the Bhojpur District Magistrate in a meeting in this regard and the DM instructed the Building Construction Department and LEO 1 for renovation of these stadiums. After the instruction of the Bhojpur DM to the concerned department, proposals have been given for the construction of two new stadiums in two new blocks of the district.

Puja Singh of Ara has brought laurels to the Bihar State and Bhojpur district by getting first rank in archery in 36^th National Games 2022 in Ahmedabad. Due to her excellent game, the Bihar team occupied the second position in the country. Pooja Singh has created a history after partition of Bihar. Bihar’s women’s team qualified in the National Games due  to Pooja Singh’s game and six talented women players of Bhojpur also brought laurels to the district by participating in the 42^nd NTPC archery National Junior competition in Goa. In the girls category, Pooja Kumari Rai, Neha Kumari Rai and Soni Kumari brought laurels to the district by participating in India round while in boys category, Samarth Kumar, Ankit Kumar and Shubam Kumar brought laurels by participating in the reverse round.

Shubham Kumar, resident of Pakari locality at Ara, started his career in archery competition in the year 2020 and on the strength of his hard work and dedication without any resources he participated in the Junior National Match in Dehradun in the year 2020 itself and qualified in the Indian round. Presenting his talent, he participated in two sub-junior national, 3 senior junior national competitions so far. In addition to it, he also participated in an NIT match on the basis of his sporting talent in archery and brought laurels to the district by participating in the match and qualifying.