Good turnout for sports talent search programme in Mysuru

360 budding sportspersons from different schools in the city and its outskirts undergo various tests

A sports talent search programme using scientific methodology, the first such effort in Mysuru by the Centre for Sports Science, elicited a good response with a total of 360 budding sportspersons from different schools in the City and its outskirts undergoing a variety of tests to assess their physical capabilities at the Chamundi Vihar Indoor Stadium here on Thursday.

The Centre for Sports Science, Bengaluru, established by the Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports (DYES) last year, has begun a State-wide drive to create a talent pool from different districts of the State. During the two-day programme in Mysuru, which concludes on Friday, an estimated 650 to 700 young sportspersons aged between 8 and 15 years are expected to be screened for their physical prowess and sporting talents.

Speaking to

The Hindu , Director of Centre for Sports Science Antony Chacko said the talent search programme will help identify promising youngsters and promote them to achieve Olympic excellence in any of the 14 sports identified by the Centre for medal prospects. The games include archery, boxing, shooting, badminton, wrestling, hockey, weightlifting, cycling, athletics, table tennis, judo, swimming, fencing and rowing.

The 360 young sportspersons, who had been sent by their respective educational institutions, were first subjected to a battery of tests in a traditional manner to assess their hand-eye coordination, upper limb and lower limb strengths, agility, static mobility, dynamic mobility, flexibility, grip strength etc. Those showing promise were taken for a second round of tests using high-end scientific technology and sensors.

“For instance, if a boy or a girl is playing badminton, they will not know if their hand-eye coordination and reaction time is good. Our tests will assess them for the same and see if it matches the international standards for children their age”, Mr Chacko said. “We will also come to know if they are in the right sporting discipline or not”, he said.

Mr. Chacko said their initiative is also looking to encourage more girls to take to competitive sports. “If one looks at the data for Karnataka, we see girls winning more medals for Karnataka than boys. For example, in swimming we are the leading State in junior and sub-junior level. But, if you look at the participation ratio between boys and girls, there is huge difference. Their participation is less, but they win more medals. So, we are trying to improve the participation of the girls”, he said.

The boys and girls, who are selected under the talent search programme, will be brought under a Long Term Athlete Development programme with complete sports science support.

Assistant Director, Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports, Mysuru, Omprakash, was present during the programme.