Basanti Kumari of Kumardungi, West Singbhum district of Jharkhand, is all set to participate in 10,000 meters race at Chengdu in China between July 28 and August 8. The coach, athletic association, and ministers are all in praise of her as it is a matter of pride for the entire state. Sapna Kumari, Florence Barla, Asha Kiran, Priyanka Kerketta and the likes from Jharkhand have brought laurels for the country by participating and winning in foreign lands. In athletics, one can hardly find the names of boys as compared to girls in the state.
However, one can hardly spot the same names when it comes to the important posts of several sports associations. Jharkhand currently has 39 sports associations among which 34 are part of the Olympics, except cricket and a few others. Most of the associations have their district-level branches across 24 districts. Notably, the Jharkhand State Athletics Association, which has branches across the districts, have only 2 women among 75 administrative posts.