Avtar Singh in Jamshedpur on Thursday. (Srinivas)

Jamshedpur, Feb. 10: Preparations are afoot for a special sporting event, and no, it isn’t the 34th National Games.

Differently abled children and youngsters from across East Singhbhum will get a chance to participate in the district-level sports meet organised by Special Olympics Bharat (Jharkhand) in March.

The organisation, under the Union ministry of youth affairs and sports, has decided to identify physically and mentally challenged youth to participate in the meet. A one-day orientation programme-cum-workshop was conducted for parents, teachers and coaches who will also pick children from villages and train them to participate in various meets in future.

The programme for community coaches was attended by Bailey Bodhanwala, president of Special Olympics Bharat (Jharkhand), and sports directors Gautam Banerjee, Avtar Singh and J.N.M. Raja.

“The motive of the Special Olympics Bharat is to reach out to special people not just in the city but in villages, too. Till now, we mostly have special children and youth from the city. Now, we are going deeper in the hinterland,” said Singh.

The outfit is also developing community coaches in the form of parents, teachers and volunteers, who will visit various panchayats and pick and promote talent.

The district-level sports meet is scheduled in March, right after the National Games. It will comprise athletics, bocce, badminton and football. Identified rural players will be chosen and groomed according to their interest and talent.

“We will train community coaches to groom and promote talent,” said Paul Abraham, a master trainer in badminton.

The minimum age of participation will be eight years. There will be no upper limit.

“Initially, we tried but couldn’t come up with new events due to funds crunch. But now that the Special Olympics Bharat has been recognised by the Union ministry of youth affairs and sports, we are sure to identify more talents and conduct meets,” said Singh.