Students take part in the athletics event at Moinul Haque Stadium in Patna on Tuesday. Picture by Ashok Sinha

The best of budding athletes from the state vied for honours to be counted as the fastest Indian.

Around 300 students of different schools sweated it out at the event christened “Gail — The Fastest Indian” at the Moinul Haque Stadium. The talent hunt had been organised by Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL).

The natural gas processing major had organised this event to zero in on the next Milkha Singh, who would then be mentored by national- and international-level athletes for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Patna was the 15th city where the talent hunt was held. It has already been organised at, among other places, Chandigarh, Delhi, Mumbai and Bhopal.

Jyoti Kumar, chief manager, corporate communications, GAIL, said: “This talent hunt is different because we are looking for an athlete for whom running is a passion.”

Milkha Singh inaugurated the event in New Delhi on August 21 and is scheduled to take part in the final round in Bangalore on December 14. The winner of the talent hunt would be provided scholarship up to his/her postgraduate level.

Students, who took part in the 100m, 200m and 400m races, were clearly excited to show of their athletic prowess.

Ravi Kumar Sinha (13), a participant in the 100m, reached the venue 45 minutes late but cleared the preliminary round. “My train was late. I was nervous. I pleaded with the organisers to give me a chance. It was important for me to prove my mettle today. I am thrilled I stood first in the preliminary round,” Ravi gushed.