Bihar govt launches sports talent hunt Mashaal

Patna: Aiming at fostering a culture of sports from the school level, identifying and promoting young talents, and providing equitable opportunities to students in the field of sports, Bihar govt has launched Mashaal 2024. Jointly organised by the departments of education and sports, as well as Bihar State Sports Authority, the talent hunt will be held from Friday to Sunday.
According to a press release issued by the department of education on Thursday, the programme, which the govt claims to be one of the world's largest school-level sports initiative, aims to engage around 58 lakh students from 37,586 govt schools across the state. The estimated expenditure for the event is approximately Rs 40 crore.
The competition will be conducted in two categories — Under-14 and Under-16 — for boys and girls at five levels — school, cluster, block, district and state. The winners of school level will qualify for inter-school competitions in a cluster. Similarly winners of cluster level will qualify for the block-level competitions, and likewise at district and state levels. It will have five sporting categories — athletics (discus throw, long jump, dash), kabaddi, badminton, football and volleyball.
As per the official press release, prizes will be awarded at each level. At the block level, prizes will be Rs 1,000 for first place, Rs 600 for second place and Rs 400 for third place in each category, with all participants receiving T-shirts and medals. District-level winners will get Rs 2,500, Rs 1,500 and Rs 1,000 for first, second and third place respectively, along with medals and certificates. State-level winners will receive Rs 5,000, Rs 3,000 and Rs 2,000 for the respective top three positions.
The govt is also provide logistical support, access to better sports infrastructure and guided training to the selected students. Besides, selected participants will also be provided advanced training, specialised coaching and nutritious meals under ‘Khelo' scholarship.