Surendra Mehta, Minister of Sports Department of Bihar, visited the indoor shooting range at Kalyan Bigha in Patna on Monday evening. During this, he met and introduced himself to national level players. Also, he took information about 10 meter air rifle and air pistol, shooting lane and other equipment from trainer Kaushal Naugariya. The minister himself also did a trial of 10 meter shooting with rifle and pistol.

Minister Mehta honored Preeti and Simmi, who won medals in the pre-national competition, by giving them medals. Both these players were medal winners in the pre-national tournament held recently in Asansol.

Demand for 25 and 50 meter shooting range
Trainer Kaushal Naugariya and villager Awadhesh Narayan Singh urged the minister that Kalyan Bigha has a 10 meter indoor shooting range, but there is a lack of 25 and 50 meter outdoor range. Due to this, players have to go to other cities for practice. He requested that the facility of 25 and 50 meter shooting range should be made available soon, so that local players can also practice better for high level competitions.

Players got success
The trainer said that many players trained in the shooting range of Kalyan Bigha have achieved success at the national level. Of these, Rishikant has got SI in Rajasthan Police, Manish Kumar and Anamika Kumari have got jobs in Assam Rifles. Apart from this, many other players have been selected for national competitions.

Sports Minister's assurance
Sports Minister Surendra Mehta assured that soon a 25 and 50 meter shooting range will be built in Kalyan Bigha. He said that under the leadership of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, sports facilities are expanding in Bihar and the state is continuously progressing in the field of sports. Referring to schemes like Sports University and Sports Academy, he said that Bihar will achieve top position in the field of sports in the coming time.

Sports ground will be built in every Panchayat
The minister also said that the state government has decided to build a playground and sports club in every panchayat. He said that if land is not available in any panchayat, the government will acquire the land to ensure development of sports facilities.

Demand for tracksuits and arms license for players
The minister provided tracksuits to the players participating in the East Zone Pre-National Tournament in Asansol. During this, the players also demanded arms license. Many other players including Nikhil Raj, Preeti Kumari, Suman, Piyush, Shivam and Prisha were present on the occasion.