Class act: Bhutan’s quest for Gross National Fitness begins at school

For a nation synonymous with the term Gross National Happiness, Bhutan has long championed the well-being of its 800,000 citizens.

Yet a concerning trend recently emerged that made the Bhutan Olympic Committee (BOC) sit up and take notice. During Olympic Day celebrations in 2024, fitness tests performed on 1,200 young participants revealed that many had failed to meet standard cardiovascular and strength requirements.

Like many nations, Bhutan has been grappling with the negative side effects of modern lifestyle choices such as unhealthy diets, digital dependency and sedentary behaviour, especially among young people.

To halt the slide, the BOC, led by its President HRH Prince Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuck, teamed up with the Ministry of Education and Skills Development to introduce the Sports in School Project.

Supported by Olympic Solidarity, the initiative is aimed at improving the health and fitness of students through structured sports programmes, Olympic values education, and exposure to regular, organised sporting events.

It is designed to complement existing physical education classes while placing an emphasis on student engagement, leadership, teamwork, and character development. At the same time, the project seeks to identify and nurture promising young talent with the potential to represent Bhutan at the elite level.

First piloted at the largest school in the country’s capital, Thimphu, the project was expanded into three additional schools for the 2025 calendar year. It culminated in a Sports Carnival where students exhibiting the greatest athletic potential in athletics, basketball, football and volleyball competed for victory.

The project has already produced a number of success stories.

Sixteen-year-old Sangay Peldon took full advantage of the project when it was introduced at the Chundu Armed Forces Public School. A boxer since 2018, the teen credited the new programme with giving her additional coaching and greater opportunities to compete.

Her natural ability was immediately evident, and she was soon fast-tracked to represent Bhutan at the 2025 Asian Youth Games in Bahrain. Remarkably, Peldon would go on to make history at the Games, becoming the first Bhutanese female to win an international boxing match.

“The Sports in School Project […] helped me understand that sports is not just a game. It teaches confidence, discipline, teamwork, and leadership,” Peldon said. “It showed me how sports can really change lives.”

To date, about 5,900 students have participated in the programme. Acknowledging that some students would have no interest in playing sports, the BOC also created meaningful non-player roles in photography, videography, student journalism, event support, and youth sports entrepreneurship. By doing so, students with different interests and strengths could still be actively involved and benefit from the overall sporting environment.

These students helped create a truly Olympic atmosphere at the Carnaval by conducting interviews, updating scores, generating content for social media, and managing food stalls.

It was the perfect opportunity, according to BOC Secretary General Tshering Sonam Karma, to showcase all the many ways people can thrive within the sports ecosystem. “For the most part, the mindset in Bhutan among parents is that you can’t make a living playing sports,” he said.

“What we are trying to say is, you don’t just play sports. There are many other aspects: sports medicine, psychology, nutrition, journalism. There’s a whole array of opportunities in sports that go beyond the field of play.”

Meera Regmi is one such example. A 16-year-old student at the Khangkhu Middle Secondary School, Regmi dreams of one day becoming a psychiatrist. But she also has “a love for words and sharing stories,” which led her to try out journalism as part of the Sports in School Project.

Her exposure to the profession resulted in a newfound passion for the role as well as an invitation from the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) to represent Bhutan as an accredited journalist at the 2026 Asian Games in Japan.

“This programme has changed how we see school sports,” Regmi said. “It is no longer just about running, passing, or scoring. It is about discovering that your place in sports doesn’t have to be on the field alone. It can be anywhere your passion takes you.”

While the long-term data on the health of the nation’s youth remains a work in progress, the immediate impact of the Sports in School Project is undeniable. From surging student engagement to the discovery of elite athletic talent, mindsets are quickly shifting.

With plans to expand the project to 10 additional schools in 2026 – and to establish a nationwide footprint by 2027 – it is clear that Bhutan is no longer simply dreaming of Gross National Fitness. It is actively building it, one school at a time.