Himachal Pradesh gets its first sports school today

The exclusive girls’ school will accommodate 180 students from Classes VI to XII, providing them an opportunity to pursue academics alongside specialised sports training under one roof. The Education Department has upgraded the existing Jubbal Sports Hostel, named after former Chief Minister Thakur Ram Lal, into the state’s first sports school.

“The girls will study and train under the same roof. It will help them focus better and produce better results,” said Santosh Chauhan, general secretary of the Himachal School Sports Association.

The school will offer training in eight disciplines — volleyball, kabaddi, badminton, boxing, taekwondo, judo, table tennis and chess. Selection trials have already been held across the state to identify meritorious players. Of the 180 students, 130 will stay in the hostel, while 50 local girls will attend as day scholars.

Boarding and lodging will be provided free of cost. The department will spend Rs 240 per trainee per day on diet, on the lines of the 10 sports hostels currently functioning across the state. Trainees will also be provided sports kits, shoes and other essential equipment free of cost. The diet allowance was Rs 120 per day until last year.

The department currently runs 11 sports hostels across Himachal Pradesh, where students receive specialised training in different sporting disciplines. The new sports school is being seen as the next step towards creating a more structured sporting ecosystem at the school level.

Himachal has struggled to make a mark in open-category national sports, but officials point to encouraging performances in school competitions. Chauhan said the state won a record 48 medals in school games last year, while 22 students represented India in international events during the past year.

“The sports school will further improve our performance at both national and international levels,” he said.

Welcoming the initiative, Himachal Pradesh Olympic Association general secretary Rajesh Bhandari said more such institutions were needed to develop sporting talent at the grassroots. He stressed the need for qualified coaches and professionals to address the psychological and nutritional requirements of young athletes.

Bhandari said the Olympic Association was willing to provide technical support to the Education Department. The success of the Jubbal experiment, therefore, could pave the way for more sports schools across the state.