From building stadiums to hosting international events, how Bihar is trying to turn around its sporting culture

Indian Express

4 hours ago

When Bihar played Mumbai at Patna's Moin-ul-Haq stadium in January 2024, it wasn't the game or the cricketing stars that captured media attention. It was the state of the stadium — the broken and muddy stands, the overgrown lawn and the non-functional scoreboard, all telltale signs of government apathy.
Since then, Bihar appears to be trying hard to shed that image. From a new multi-crore state-of-the-art sports complexes and a sports university to hosting Khelo India Youth games and a new policy and department exclusively to it, Bihar is doing much in this direction.
Bihar's sports push can be gauged from the fact that its sports budget shot up from Rs 30 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 568 crore in 2025-26. According to a senior leader of the ruling Janata Dal (United), the Nitish Kumar government was trying to use such initiatives to tap into a vast vote base – the youth. Youth are estimated to make up about 30 percent of Bihar's population and, according to the leader, such a push holds particular significance since the state has historically lagged behind in sporting achievements.
'Promoting sundry sports ahead of crucial 2025 Assembly polls could come in handy for the government to tap into the vast constituency of youth, which is caste-neutral,' the senior leader, who is close to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, said. 'At the heart of this transformation is the belief that sports can empower the youth, promote community well-being, and uplift the state's image on both national and international stages'.
A senior government official added: 'If Nitish Kumar's tenure as Bihar CM between 2005 and 2020 is often cited for infrastructure overhaul in the state and providing drinking water to almost all villages, the CM's current tenure between 2020 and 2025 has witnessed a massive push for sports – from upgrading of sports infrastructure to taking Bihar on national map by hosting several national and international sports events in past few years.'
A large part of the push is decentralisation of sports and promotion at the village level. This includes constructing outdoor stadiums at block levels to encourage more participation.
But it's not only sports infrastructure that the state is upgrading: it's also simultaneously offering incentives for athletes, even announcing a new policy last year for directly recruiting medal-winning athletes into government jobs.
Bihar's push for sports also found a mention in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech on the opening day of the 7th edition of Khelo India Youth Games, 2025, on May 4. In it, Modi lavished praise at the Bihar government's initiatives to promote sports and said events such Khelo India Youth Games would further 'help Bihar in establishing its presence in the field of sports at national level'.
Building sports cities, decentralising sports — Bihar's massive sports push
Soon after the January 2024 fiasco, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced a revamp of the Moinul Haque stadium. Meanwhile, just ahead of the Khelo India Youth games, Nitish inaugurated sports facilities at the Rajgir Sports Academy-cum-Sports University.
Built at a cost of Rs 750 crore, the 90-acre sports complex boasts of having both indoor and outdoor stadiums with facilities to host sports events across 24 disciplines. Also under construction is an international cricket stadium at Rajgir with a capacity of 40,000 spectators, expected to be ready by the end of the year. The stadium is expected to host both domestic and international matches.
The Bihar Sports University, meanwhile, is expected to be opened to students from the 2025-26 academic session. The university, which got recognition from the University Grants Commission in January this year, will offer both degree and diploma programmes in various disciplines of sports. Among its programmes are diploma/PG diploma in sports coaching, diploma/PG diploma in Yoga, four years Bachelor of Physical education. It will also offer programmes in sport sciences.
Besides this, the government has also begun hosting a variety of national and international sporting events, from the Women's Asian Hockey and the Ranji Trophy Cup matches in 2024 to the Sepak Takraw World Cup 2025 and the Khelo India Youth Games 2025.
In January last year, the state government created a standalone sports department, previously part of the art, culture and youth affairs department. This came a year after the state government set up the Bihar State Sports Authority (BSSA) – the body that promotes athletes in the state.
The government is also setting up a Rs 100-crore sports complex at Punpun on the outskirts of Patna. The complex would be part of a larger sports city complete with modern facilities such as training centre, gyn, lounges and restaurants.
Meanwhile, officials at block and district levels have been asked to have playgrounds ready 'as part of the state government's mega drive to nurture sports talents from grassroot levels', Masaurhi sub-divisional officer Amit Kumar Patel said.
Out of Bihar's 534 blocks, 252 already have fully constructed outdoor stadiums while an additional 64 are currently under construction, while 58 are at the active development stage, officials said. 'Proposals for stadiums have been received from 163 more blocks, indicating strong grassroots interest and participation in the program. So far, 25 districts have completed these sports-cum-fitness centres, and another 13 have received official approval for construction,' one district official said.
In March this year, the BSSA launched 'Mashal' – a statewide talent search competition for schools. The event saw the participation of students from 38,000 government secondary and higher secondary schools in the state.
Students selected under this programme are trained to go to cluster, block, district and state competitions.
'The competition is conducted in two categories — Under 14 and Under 16 for boys and girls. At present, students participate in athletics, kabaddi, badminton, football and volleyball,' one official said, adding that there are plans to add at least half a dozen more sports in the coming three years.
In addition, the state is trying to incentivise sports and sportspeople under its 'Medal Lao, Naukri Pao' scheme. 'Under this, medal winners at various sporting competitions will be given Class 1 government jobs without appearing for a written test or interview. So far, 71 national and international award winners have been given government jobs,' one official said.
The state government is also offering scholarships for athletes. According to government officials, 123 athletes have been granted scholarships of up to Rs 5 lakh/year.
'This category guarantees that athletes at various levels receive sufficient support to pursue their sporting ambitions. It covers expenses related to training, travel, equipment, and other vital needs,' one official said.
Meanwhile, high-performing athletes who have already showcased outstanding skills at national or international competitions are entitled to scholarships of up to Rs 20 lakh/annum.
'The scholarship ensures that elite athletes have access to top-notch training facilities, coaching, nutrition, and medical care. It enables them to compete at the highest levels and achieve recognition for both the state and the nation,' the official said.
According to Additional Chief Secretary B Rajender, the initiatives have already begun showing results.
'That Bihar is witnessing a sports revolution is evident in the state's record 36 medals at the 2025 Khelo India Youth Games, a 620 percent jump from last year. A key pillar of this transformation is the rapid expansion of grassroots infrastructure — construction for 6,659 new sports grounds across 5,671 gram panchayats has begun. At the same time, the government is setting up khel clubs and launching talent hunts involving around 60 lakh players from 40,000 schools, ensuring that every corner of Bihar becomes a cradle for sporting excellence.'
Athletes too believe these programmes prove how seriously the state is now taking sports. 'Bihar's sports facilities are now at par with Delhi's sports facilities,' Anishka Kumari, an archer, said. 'Bihar hosting some national and international events is a big enough proof of it.'
But some experts believe the measures are 'too little, too late'.
'Why had Moin-ul-Haq stadium remained ignored all these years when a small state like Jharkhand has two world-class stadia?' Bihar Players Association president Mrityunjay Tiwari asked. 'The government has to start from basics – we do not have devoted playing hours in schools, and we hardly have sports trainers. Raising boundary walls in villages does not make it a stadium. It is good that the government is finally addressing the neglect of sports but it has to first inculcate sports culture. It can come with good trainers and decentralised sports infrastructure.'
Santosh Singh is a Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express since June 2008. He covers Bihar with main focus on politics, society and governance. Investigative and explanatory stories are also his forte. Singh has 25 years of experience in print journalism covering Bihar, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka.
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