Special athletes in Dhanbad will soon be introduced to a new game which is highly popular in Europe, the United States and Canada.

After launching Cornhole Baggo in Jamshedpur last month, Special Olympics Jharkhand (SOJ) will be introducing it in Dhanbad on Saturday, March 20. Cornhole Baggo will also be introduced in Ranchi and Bokaro in due course of time.

SOJ assistant area director Satbir Singh Sahota said the game will be introduced at Pehla Kadam, a special school in the coal town. "We have already finalised the programme with the administration of Pehla Kadam," he said.

In Cornhole Baggo, players have to throw 6 inch x 6 inch bags full of corn into a 6 inch hole on a 4ft x 2ft board. Participants with lower ability are required to throw the bag from a distance of 3m, those with moderate ability from 4m and those with higher ability from 5m. Each bag, which are in red and green colour, is filled with corn weighing 454 gm.

The board is placed in an inclined position and the game is played over three sets. Each set has two points and participants putting the bag into the hole maximum number of times emerges winner. It's interesting game and is somewhat similar to bocce. The game is played between two or four athletes and is also played with unified partners.

Special Olympics Bharat (SOB), a national organisation which promotes special athletes, has already launched Cornhole Baggo through its Odisha chapter earlier this year.

The new game was recently demonstrated and rules explained in a webinar conducted by the outfit and attended by more than 125 people consisting of coaches, officials and athletes of the national outfit from across the country. Sahota represented Jharkhand in the webinar.

According to the SOJ assistant area director, talks are underway with Ranchi-based Deepshikha Institute of Child Development and Mental Health and Asha Lata Kendra (Bokaro) to introduce Cornhole Baggo in the two cities. "Dates will be finalised once Deepshikha and Asha Late Kendra reopens. Both schools are presently closed owing to the pandemic," Sahota said.