Students at Monday’s Abhiruchi Sports Day rally in the city. Picture by Eastern Projections

Guwahati, Sept. 5: It was way back in 1966 that Bhogeswar Barua won the gold medal in the 800-metre sprint at the Bangkok Asian Games which fetched him the Arjuna award the following year.

Publication house Abhiruchi celebrates Barua’s birthday on September 3 every year by organising Abhiruchi Sports Day in Assam to inspire budding athletes.

Abhiruchi will embark on a new mission of setting up an athletics academy in the state. It is the state’s first publishing house to deal in sports literature.

Managing director and chairman of the Abhiruchi Sports Day organising committee Balendra Mohan Chakravarty said the new endeavour of the publication house is to set up a full-fledged athletics academy in the state before observing the 25th Abhiruchi Sports Day next year.

“We have done enough during the past 24 years to make Bhogeswar Barua a familiar face in almost every household across the state. Our new mission is to produce at least another Bhogeswar Barua in athletics at the earliest. So we are starting an athletics academy in Guwahati with the help of the icon himself to achieve the target,” Chakravarty said.

Abhiruchi Sports Day was celebrated yesterday in 104 places across the state.

Abhiruchi has also drawn applause from various quarters, including Arjuna awardee Kamlesh Mehta, for the “unique initiative” of honouring an achiever in his lifetime.

“I am very enthusiastic about the concept. I will launch a talent hunt by the end of this month. It would take me nearly two to three months to tap talent whom we can groom into potential Olympic medallists for the nation,” said Barua.

Chakravarty said the initiative was to start a residential grooming programme for at least 10 athletes, which could also be increased to 25 depending upon the availability of sponsors.

“We are working out the nitty-gritty with our prospective sponsors, who are mostly from outside the state. The residential training is set to kick off by January,” he said.

The academy will have its own coaches, trainers and physical instructors as well as medical facilities. There will be an arrangement for the trainees to pursue academics free of cost.

Sponsors have already been finalised each of whom will sponsor a trainee.