The Jhajjar Academy

This recent love for cricket has been largely inspired by the Haryana Government8217;s recent announcement that cricketer Virender Sehwag would set up an Integrated Sports Academy here in Silani Kesho, a village that announces itself after a two-hour drive down the Delhi-Rohtak road. The local panchayat has already given 23 acres for the project, which also include a school for 800 students and a hostel for 400.

8220;My ancestral village is in Jhajjar district and I know that boys from the region have a natural flair for sports. There is an inherent potential that is not realised fully because of lack of proper coaching and organised training. Our new academy will have training facilities for five major sports8212;cricket, football, swimming and, of course, wrestling,8221; says Sehwag.

When Sehwag speaks about Jhajjar8217;s 8220;flair for sports and an awareness about physical fitness8221;, it8217;s easy to see that he understands the region and the occupational profile of its residents. 8220;It will be difficult to find a single family that doesn8217;t have a member in the army. In fact, so great is the passion for serving the forces that those who don8217;t make it to the army aspire for what they feel is the next best thing8212;the police. Therefore, the thrust, right from childhood, is on strong physical fitness and this is precisely the potential we had in mind when we announced this project,8221; says Deepinder Hooda, local Member of Parliament.

Nobody illustrates this better than Attar Singh, the village sarpanch. Nine members of his family presently serve in the army. Singh, an ex-serviceman himself, explains, 8220;We always believe that youth is an opportunity. Your capabilities and potential are at their peak at this phase. If these energies are not channeled and disciplined, youngsters take to bad ways, resort to drugs etc. There is no better way to keep our boys busy than engaging them in sport and education. This is why we agreed to give our land to Sehwag8217;s academy.8221;

The predominantly rural district of Jhajjar was carved out of Rohtak in 1997. The district boasts of 80 registered sports clubs. At least a dozen local cricket tournaments are played here and the money at stake for the winning team can be as high as Rs 51,000 accumulated largely through contributions.

As Deputy Commissioner Nitin Yadav says, 8220;Nineteen more stadiums, each being constructed at Rs 40 lakh, are coming up in various parts of the district. Good sporting infrastructure has been a persistent demand of the people. Every day, I receive students who come with requests of cricket kits, boxing equipment, gym machines, mats etc.8221;

The local boys are upbeat about the prospect of this academy. The village has a reasonably strong educational set-up with one co-ed senior secondary school, one senior secondary school for girls and a co-ed primary school.

Thirteen-year-old Narender says he has grown up idolising Virender Sehwag and now can8217;t wait for the academy to start. Narender won8217;t have to wait long. Venod Sehwag, the younger brother of the cricketer who is looking after the administrative aspects of the project, says, 8220;That should not take more than two years after the land is formally handed over to us. We are finalising the details. We will import soil for the pitch from South Africa and Australia. Veeru is keen that the boys are exposed to bouncy pitches. The selection of coaches and other staff will begin this Monday. My brother and I are now visiting premier academies, including the National Cricket Academy, Cricket Australia, the National Cricket Academy of South Africa and the MRF pace initiative in Chennai.8221;

The minimum age to get into the academy has been kept at eight years. But almost every sportsman here8212;across all age groups8212;sees an opportunity in the academy. As Manjit Chahr, a 21-year-old wrestler, says, 8220;The best thing about this academy is that it has a school, so you get a degree along with the sport. Also, since the children will be taught by professional coaches, their interaction skills and confidence levels will be higher.8221;

The government has declared that of the 400 seats at the academy, some will be reserved for children of Silani Kesho village. 8220;We have been told that we will even get jobs in this academy, so that is an added advantage. We all look up to Sehwag and know the struggle he had to go through to become the star he is today. He would travel from Najafgarh to Ghaziabad at four every morning. This was the grind he had to go through despite being extraordinarily talented. We hope that once the academy is functional, our children too will excel,8221; says Surinder Singh, father of 12-year-old Arvind, who is currently preparing for national junior wrestling championships.