Army to train girls in shooting, archery, athletics

New Delhi: The Indian Army is raising two Army Girls Sports Company (AGSC) to train young girls from different parts of the country in shooting, archery, athletics, boxing and weightlifting.

The girls at AGSCs will be eligible for recruitment as Direct Entry Non Commissioned Officers and Direct Entry Junior Commissioned Officers apart from enrolment as Agniveers.

The Indian Army has rich experience in scouting for young talent as demonstrated by the success of Boys Sports Companies.

The Army Girls Sports Company (AGSC) will be raised in a phased manner at two Army's Centre of Excellence (COE) Nodes which are Army Marksmanship Unit, Mhow and Army Sports Institute, Pune.

The purpose of the AGSC is to identify the young talent, provide them with formal education apart from other administrative requirements and train them to be champions in their respective sporting discipline.

The AGSC will train young girls from all parts of the country in shooting, archery, athletics, boxing and weightlifting.

These two locations have world-class training infrastructure, sports medicine centre, rehabilitation facility and related coaching facilities.

The young talent will also benefit from the senior Army teams and athletes, who are also being trained at these locations.

Senior sports persons will be a source of motivation for these young girls, who will be able to successfully emulate the International athletes and imbibe required skills on a very regular basis. The move is aligned with India's sports policy to achieve more podium finishes at the Olympics.

Subedar Preeti Rajak, a champion trap shooter and Asian Games Silver medallist, was accordingly identified as a talent and enrolled as a Havildar in the Corps of Military Police in December 2022. She was the first woman soldier to be promoted to Subedar in January 2024. She trains at the Army Marksmanship Unit at Mhow, where one of the two Army Girls Sports Company is being established.

Similarly, Jasmine Lamboria, a Bronze medallist in Commonwealth Games 2022, was also enrolled as a Non-Commissioned Officer in the Indian Army in October 2022. These role models will inspire the incoming young talent to strive for sporting glory in their respective fields. The AGSC will be fully functional with effect from April 2024.