Pistol shooter Anish Bhanwal, who is currently representing the country in his first senior World Cup in Mexico, has been allotted special dates by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to appear for his Class Ten board exams.
Neelam Kapoor, Director General of the Sports Authority of India (SAI), told ANI," Anish approached the SAI about a month back, and then, we took it up with the CBSE. We requested them if separate days could be arranged for three of the exams he will be missing. And they very kindly agreed to our request."
"This is part of the policy of the Government of India particularly of the Ministry of Sports (MoS), that when young people are encouraged to take up sport and they achieve success, we should be able to provide them the facility that they should not have to sacrifice their educational goals," she added.
Kapoor said, "We would like young India to come out and play. We have huge infrastructure, make use of that and the government is there to hold their hands and take them forward."
Bhanwal is currently in Mexico and will return only after the Commonwealth Games in April, to write the three exams he will miss.
The shooter is the first such instance to be granted special dates for the board examinations due to his international calendar which includes the Mexico World Cup, Junior World Cup in Australia, the Commonwealth Games and Korea World Cup.
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Anish's father Jagpal Bhanwal thanked SAI, CBSE and National Rifle Association of India (NRI) for their cooperation and help.
"Everybody told me that Anish would not get the permission for special board dates. But when I talked with the organisations, I was assured that if Anish is performing well, he will definitely be given the privilege. I thank SAI, CBSE and NRI for their support. Now, Anish has been relieved of the dilemma he had concerning his board exams.