Khelo India Youth Games 2025: How Barauni Became Bihar’s Football Powerhouse

Beneath the unfinished arches of an under-construction flyover, a humble tagline reads: “Football ke rang, Begusarai ke sang.” It’s not just a slogan—it’s the soul of a quiet sporting revolution that has reshaped the identity of a small town in Bihar. (More Sports News)

In Barauni, a locality tucked away from the clamour of Patna, football didn’t just arrive. It fought, bled, and rose from the dust of defeat. At the heart of this movement is a patch of earth named after freedom fighter Yamuna Bhagat, who laid its foundation nearly 80 years ago by setting up a library to educate youth from oppressed communities. But football, and the legacy it now carries, was forged in fire much later.

That turning point came in 1990. During celebrations marking 50 years of the Yamuna Bhagat Ground, an exhibition match was hurriedly arranged. With only one visiting team turning up, the organisers, caught off guard, fielded a team of local girls, most of whom had never played a single game. They lost. Badly. Bones were fractured, egos were bruised, and pride was deeply wounded.

“We were humiliated. But we turned that pain into purpose,” recalls Chandra Shekhar, a retired schoolteacher and former footballer, who was one of the early torchbearers of this movement. The loss sparked not shame, but resolve. The village united. Coaches were hired, resources scraped together, and within a year, the girls were back on the pitch—not to participate, but to win. And they did—defeating a strong Ara side featuring former India striker Poonam, 1-0.

That lone goal echoed across Bihar—it was more than a victory, it was a statement: “We belong.”

In the decades that followed, Barauni evolved into a breeding ground for football talent. Guiding this transformation were individuals like Chandra Shekhar and Sanjeev Kumar Singh, a former Mohun Bagan goalkeeper who gave up an Army career to mentor village youth. “For my family, I may seem useless,” Sanjeev admits. “But someone had to carry this torch. Football isn’t my job, it’s my calling.”

Their sacrifices paid off. Barauni has since produced 12 state championship titles, accounts for nearly 70% of Bihar’s football squad, and continues to inspire with its grassroots grit.

In 2018, the ground hosted Santosh Trophy matches. And now, in 2025, it proudly hosts the Khelo India Youth Games, a national spotlight on three decades of collective perseverance.

Scouts from the Sports Authority of India roam the fields, often stopping to ask: Who trained you? More often than not, the answer leads back to Barauni.

For many, KIYG is a chance. For Barauni, it’s validation. A village once broken by defeat now stands as the heartbeat of Bihar’s football story, a place where heartbreak birthed heritage, and the beautiful game found its fiercest believers.