One of the many privileges of working at Marcellus is that we get to travel around India and meet the people who are changing the country for the better. On one such trip to Patna in 2022 met a police officer – IPS Raveendran Sankaran. We stayed in touch with him, learnt several things about leadership and crisis management from him and were thrilled to see this article on his exploits.
Jyoti Yadav writes for The Print: “When Bihar appointed IPS Raveendran Sankaran as Director General of the Bihar State Sports Authority (BSSA) in the beginning of 2022, many saw it as a punishment posting. There were murmurs in state bureaucracy that his career was over.
But for 55-year-old Sankaran, it was a new beginning, a passion project to turn around Bihar’s sporting culture. He decided to work with the underdogs.
Three years later, the state is producing inspiring sporting stories and has risen in the rankings when it comes to medals tally. And Sankaran is responsible for this turnaround. The Tamil IPS officer has adopted Bihar’s players and today he knows more about the state’s sporting history and DNA than any local administrator would. Coming from a family of athletes in the southern state, Sankaran is a man on a mission to change the image of his adopted state. He is flying in good coaches from all over, carefully choosing sports where Bihar can get maximum medals and constantly lobbying with the government to build world class infrastructure…
During the 2002 National Games opening ceremony held in Hyderabad, Bihar’s athletes marched without sports shoes or uniforms. Some wore slippers, others were even barefoot. President APJ Abdul Kalam, the chief guest at the ceremony, rose to take a look at the Bihar contingent.
“Bihar on slippers”, “Bihar shamed athletes” “Yet another humiliation for a medal drought state” were the headlines the next day,” said Sankaran. In those games, Bihar won a single medal—a silver in discuss throw…
Cut to 2025. At the recently concluded National Games in Uttarakhand, Bihar won won 12 medals (1 gold, 6 silver, and 5 bronze). The medal in women’s triple lawn bowls event was Bihar’s first at the National Games in 25 years.
The significant rise in Bihar’s medal tally at the national level is a result of the efforts of Sankaran and his 60-member team at BSSA. This includes the establishment of elite sports infrastructure, such as the one in Rajgir, schemes like “Medal Lao, Naukari Pao,” and the opening of 38 Ekalavya Sports Schools.”
So how did Raveendran do it? How does work with some of the most underprivileged people in one of the poorest states in India and turn them into Olympians?
“Sankaran’s eureka moment came after he read the book The Talent Lab: How to Turn Potential into World-Beating Success. Owen Slot’s work chronicles how the UK transformed its approach to sports and achieved remarkable success on the global stage.
“The book left me thinking how I could replicate such success in Bihar,” said Sankaran….
Sankaran is focusing on four key pillars—talent identification, nurturing, scouting, and systematic support.
According to Sankaran, people in Bihar tend to take bureaucrats from southern states more seriously compared to home cadre officers, who often face intense scrutiny. He said that he adapted seamlessly, learning Hindi and embracing cultural nuances…
Sankaran’s suggestions included introducing game-swapping to transition from team games to individual sports (athletics, swimming, boxing, archery, shooting, fencing, weightlifting, cycling, wrestling), leveraging MGNREGA for grassroots sports infrastructure development, and highlighting the critical role of human eye in talent scouting rather than relying solely on biomechanics or AI tools.
Pullela Gopichand, Chief National Coach of the Indian badminton team, endorsed Sankaran’s approach.
“While most states often prioritise the traditional or organic games, Sankaran’s focus on medal-winning individual sports sets him apart. His scientific approach to sports is certainly the right track,” he said.”
As is often the case with leaders who are not shy of doing unconventional things, Sankaran’s logical thought has led him to take some remarkably unusual steps such as turning Bihar into a rugby powerhouse: “Rugby, a quintessential English sport, is transforming hundreds of lives among Bihar’s poorest families. In recent years, the state’s men’s and women’s teams have achieved outstanding success, winning dozens of medals. Bihar has now become the standard bearer for rugby in India, with international coaches being invited for training. In 2022, the state not only hosted the National Rugby Championship but also saw its young female players clinch gold medals in two categories.”
Under Sankaran’s leadership Bihar’s sports budget has risen manifold: “Sankaran has played a crucial role in the state’s sports budget, which has leapt from Rs 30 crore in 2022 to Rs 680 crore in 2024. In January 2024, the state created a standalone Sports Department, separating it from Art and Culture Department. In 2023 alone, 71 players were recruited for government jobs— including the rugby girls— who are currently under police training in Rajgir.
One after another, he introduced policies to institutionalise the changes he was trying to introduce—such as Bihar’s sports recruitment policy, scholarship programs, and the establishment of panchayat-level sports clubs.
Bihar’s sports scholarship programme provides annual grants of Rs three lakh to 500 athletes, Rs five lakh to 200 athletes, and Rs 20 lakh to 25 athletes.
“We are also setting up a 100-acre sports city at the outskirts of Patna,” Sankaran said.”
India’s sportstars are increasingly going to emerge from small towns and states hitherto seen as backwaters. As the big city boys & girls settle into the lifestyle of social media, lattes and overseas education, the grit & grind required for success in professional sport will come from kids with less privileged backgrounds.
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