Patna: Bihar has kicked off what is being described as the world’s largest school sports talent search competition, ‘Mashal’, with more than 50 lakh students from over 38,000 government secondary and higher secondary schools set to compete.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar recently inaugurated the statewide event at the Patliputra Sports Complex in Patna by lighting the ceremonial torch. The initiative, a collaborative effort between the Bihar State Sports Authority, Sports Department, Education Department, SCERT, and the Bihar Education Project Council, aims to identify and nurture young athletic talent in the state.
Ravindran Shankar, Director General and CEO of the Bihar State Sports Authority, said the competition will be held in five phases—starting from the school level, advancing through cluster, block, and district levels, and culminating at the state level. Boys and girls under 14 and under 16 years of age will compete in events such as athletics, kabaddi, football, and volleyball. Athletics includes running, long jump, and cricket ball throw.
Currently, cluster-level contests are underway in 5,900 schools across Bihar from 22 to 24 May. Each school has fielded 77 student-athletes, and approximately 16 lakh students have registered, with battery tests already conducted on 12 lakh of them.
Winners at each stage will receive cash prizes totalling Rs 10 crore, along with medals and e-certificates. Eventually, 77 students from each cluster will progress to block-level contests held across 533 blocks.
Officials say the larger goal of Mashal is not only to cultivate a sporting culture in the state but also to identify and develop young athletes for national and international competitions through professional training programmes.
