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Ludhiana: Hockey tops enrolment charts across district sports nurseries
More than 20 sports nurseries have been set up in district after surveys to identify the most popular sport of each area
Sports nurseries set up across the district have become a major attraction for young athletes, with hockey emerging as the most popular sport among children. Official data shows that hockey has recorded the highest enrolment so far.
As part of an initiative to strengthen sports at the base, more than 20 sports nurseries have been started across urban and rural areas of the district. These nurseries are being run with the support of trained coaches deputed by the state sports department and aim to provide focused coaching to children at an early age.
According to officials, over 550 children have already enrolled in different sports disciplines, with hockey alone accounting for 133 enrolments, the highest among all sports.
District sports officer Kuldeep Chugh said that many of the locations already had children playing sports informally. “The difference now is that they are getting proper coaching, regular training and guidance from qualified coaches,” he said. He added that coaches surveyed different blocks to identify the most popular sport in each area, and nurseries were then assigned disciplines accordingly.
Hockey nurseries have seen strong participation at multiple locations. Mundian Kalan has recorded the highest hockey enrolment with 50 children, followed by Ghawaddi with 45 and Nihang Singh Stadium with 30. Jarkhar has eight children enrolled in hockey.
Athletics is the second most popular discipline with 115 children enrolled across several centres. These include Government Senior Secondary School, Sahnewal with 15 children, Siar Government Senior Secondary School with 20, Playground Barundi with 15, Guru Gobind Singh Stadium, Macchiwara with 25, and Bhamipura with 20 children enrolled at two different locations.
Football has attracted 105 children, with Sarabha leading at 65 enrolments and Gujjarwal reporting 40. Boxing has also seen significant interest, particularly in Chakkar village, where 80 children have enrolled. Volleyball at Khanna has 35 children, while rowing at Doraha has 20.
Other sports include gymnastics with 20 children at Shaheed-e-Azam Sukhdev Thapar School of Eminence, wrestling with 20 children at Jagat Colony, basketball with 20 at Baba Sidh Ji Maan Sports Stadium, Slodhi, cycling with 12 at PAU, and wushu and archery with 10 children each at School of Eminence, Kidwai Nagar and Daba village respectively.
Supervisor Ajitpal said attendance has been fluctuating due to extreme cold weather, but interest remains strong. “Hockey continues to draw the maximum number of children. Once the weather improves, participation is expected to stabilise,” he said.
The nurseries mainly cater to children up to 18 years of age. The long-term plan, officials said, is to train children at the nursery level, move talented players to district headquarters for advanced coaching and eventually prepare them for the Punjab Institute of Sports.
