Karnataka will be competing for a top-10 finish by the time the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics comes calling. An exclusive Talent Pool Scheme has been jointly launched by the Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports, Education Department, Centre for Sports Science, Bengaluru and Fit India.

The aim is to scout talent as young as 10-year-old and 12-year-old with an aim to prepare them for the Los Angeles Games. “We look forward to and realise the dreams of every young sportsperson to make Karnataka a great sporting powerhouse,” said Youth Empowerment and Sports Minister K.C. Narayanagowda.

He added that talented youngsters will be guided by a world-class coaching facility during their journey to become world champions. The scheme covers both online and offline programmes to develop talent pools and over 8,000 physical training and sports teachers in schools across the State would be trained to identify talents both in urban and rural areas, he said.

Of the 8,000 teachers, online training would be given to 1,666 teachers for three days in four divisions. They will be trained to identify the talent at local level, their role in identifying such talents, and they will be taught how to score well in the games that are conducted beyond the State, in the national level.

10 talents per sports teacher

Each sports teacher would have the responsibility of identifying 10 talented players in any sports including athletics and the profiles would be uploaded to the system where they will be monitored. If a sportsperson or a student meets the criteria, training will be provided to him/her at the local level and also at the level of sports training institutes. 

Boys and girls practising different sports disciplines such as athletics, swimming, fencing, wrestling, archery, badminton, cycling, rowing, kayaking, canoeing, weightlifting, sport climbing, golf, skateboarding, taekwondo, judo, gymnastics, diving and shooting are some of the sports covered.

“By starting the scheme, we are identifying the young talents and it’s a process of talent scouting at a young age and taking full responsibility of their training by bringing in world-class coaches,” the Minister said.

Scientific parameters

The scheme will provide a platform for identification of talented sports persons in priority sports disciplines in which India has potential. In addition to selection of prize winners, the duly constituted talent identification committee will also adopt globally accepted scientific methods to spot and identify talent in various sports disciplines.

The scheme has been launched on the basis of scientific parameters including strength, endurance, mobility, motor capacity and speed, using various equipment and gadgets. It is aimed at creating a pool of talent from grassroots across different districts of the State.

Sportspersons with promise, who are identified under the programme, will be brought under a Long Term Athlete Development programme with complete sports science support. “We have a huge potential in sports. However, we are unable to discover and use the potential to make a mark in the Olympics. This scheme is to take sports to great heights in Karnataka,” Minister Narayanagowda added.