Chandigarh’s football-hockey academy shows results

CHANDIGARH - It has been a long term investment and now the Chandigarh Football-Hockey Academy is beginning to show results.

Started in 2000 by the government for children from all over northern India who are talented in sports, the academy is now producing players who can compete at national and international levels.

A brainchild of J.F.R Jacob, former administrator of Chandigarh and a retired general and war hero, it started as a football academy at the Sector 42 sports complex. Two years later hockey was added and it was rechristened Chandigarh Football-Hockey Academy (CFHA).

The first batch of 24 football players, who joined the academy when they were 9-10 years old, graduated in 2007 after completing seven years’ training.

J.P.S Sidhu, joint director of sports, Chandigarh, told IANS: “Around 14 players of the first football batch had attended national football camps for various tournaments and six players represented India in prestigious international competitions in different age groups.

“We are confident of producing global standard sporting talent in the near future. On an average, Rs.80,000 is spent by the academy on each trainee annually.”

The second (10-11 years) and third (9-10 years) batches of 24 footballers each were started in 2004 and 2007.

Hockey training started in 2002 with the first batch of 11-12-year-olds of 24 boys for a six-year training stint. Subsequent batches of hockey trainees were inducted in 2005 and 2008.

“Once a child is selected in the academy then he is our responsibility and we look after his every need. They are provided free education till Class 12 and the sports department also arranges for their admission in good government schools,” Chandigarh Sports Secretary Sanjay Kumar told IANS.

“They are provided free board, lodging and sports equipment and the facility of free treatment at leading government hospitals. The department also engages tutors to regularly monitor and supervise their studies,” he added.

Six hockey players from the first batch made it to the India juniors squad. Dharamvir, who passed out from here, was in the team that bagged the silver medal in the Junior Asia Cup held in Singapore this May.

The academy also started training a girls’ hockey team in 2007 and admitted 24 trainees in the age group of 13-14 years.

Two of the trainees, Swati and Monica, represented India in the under-18 hockey Asia Cup held in China last month. The academy’s girls’ hockey team won the National School Games tourney in 2008.

The students are selected from all parts of northern India, depending on their performances in district level tournaments.

On the selection procedure, Sidhu said: “The district level selection teams in Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh are asked to pick up children in the age group of 9-10 (boys) and 13-14 (girls).”

The shortlisted children go through rigorous final tests and medical examination in Chandigarh on the basis of guidelines set by the Sports Authority of India (SAI).

“We always maintain a certain standard of performance in our academy and many times non-performers have been sent back to their homes. At present the total strength of the academy is 120,” said Sidhu.

To provide the trainees advanced coaching in football for five years’ an MoU was also signed with the Sports School, Leipzig (Germany), in 2007. So far, four groups have been sent there.

“We have also decided to tie up with the hockey organisations of New Zealand, Holland, Germany and Malaysia to provide specialised training and exposure to both boys and girls of our hockey academy,” added Sidhu.

The trainees, many of whom are from families that cannot afford to spend a lot of money on sports facilities, are thrilled with the opportunity.

“I am very happy to become a part of this academy, it is just like my second home. Here everything is very disciplined and I hope to represent my country’s team in the football world cup one day,” 11-year-old Kamalpreet Singh said.

Swati from the girls’ hockey academy said: “After joining this academy we have become more focussed in life. The best thing about this academy is that studies and sports go hand in hand and we cannot ignore either. I pray that more such academies will come up all across the country to help budding talent.”

(Alkesh Sharma can be contacted at alkesh.s@ians.in)