Jaipur, Oct 18 (IANS): Looking at the major sports talent remaining untouched in rural areas of the country, Colonel Himmat Verma took premature retirement from the Army in August 2021 to launch an NGO 100 Medals-Targeted Foundation in Jaipur.

The officer took premature retirement after having served for 23 years in various parts of the country. The ultimate aim of his foundation is to contribute meaningfully to the nation's sports performance in Olympics and achieve a target of 100 medals in Olympics, said Lt. Col. Amitabh Sharma, PRO (Defence).

The NGO aims at identifying sporting talent amongst children from all across sections of the society. The foundation will also focus on economically weaker sections and villages where our hidden gems are located. As the Foundation grows, it shall strive to strengthen the sports infrastructure at the grassroots level to enable every child to pick and pursue a sport with passion, Sharma adds.

Col Verma told IANS, "The main challenge is to convince children to take up the talent selection test, to reach out to all nooks and corners of the country to find out the talents and convince parents to allow their children to take up sports as a career.

However, confident on countless opportunities, he said, "The opportunities are endless. Everyone has been very encouraging and appreciative the concept. Many are already willing to join and contribute to talent identification. Things must fall in its place in the first talent selection camp for people to understand the motives of the NGO, he adds.