Identification of talent is weak area in India: Jitendra

Even as Sachin Tendulkar's visionary document to integrate sports into the education system has hit a roadblock, Sports Minister Jitendra Singh today said the "weak area towards sports development in the country is identification of talent".
"The weak area towards sports development in the country is identification of talent. We don't have a structured way of identifying talent and whoever we have been able to identify...90 per cent of them have been identified but not through a structured process," Jitendra told reporters here.
In his proposal, Tendulkar had outlined four points in his proposal -- tap into grassroots and nurture young talent, promote sports at university and college levels, revamp sporting infrastructure and make physical activity part of school curriculum.

"We have proposed two schemes - Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhyan and the Install project. We are going to look into both of them," Jitendra added.
With the aim of developing human resources for the overall development of sports in the country, Jitendra today announced a revised scheme called 'Human Resources Development in Sports'.
The scheme intends to award fellowships and scholarships, besides providing financial grants to a number of projects in order to develop one of the top 10 sporting nations in the country.

"The Government intends to give focus on developing human resources in sports sciences and sports medicine for the overall development of sports and games in the country," said Jitendra.

"This will help the country be self reliant in these fields over a period of time in general and meet the requirements of the proposed National Institute of Sports Sciences and Medicines in particular," he added.
The scheme includes awarding fellowships for specialised studies at Masters' and Doctoral levels in the subjects like Biomechanics, Kinesiology, Anthropometry, Exercise Physiology, Sports Psychology, General theory and method of training, Sports Medicine, Sports Nutrition and Anti Doping.