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In 2019, when India’s former sprinter PT Usha had arrived in Chandigarh to witness the Indian Grand Prix hosted by the Chandigarh Athletics Association (CAA), she was shocked to know that the city where the legendary Milkha Singh had lived a chunk of his life, did not have a single synthetic athletics track. As a result, the Indian Grand Prix had to be shifted to the well-equipped Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Panchkula.
In fact, Milkha, during his two-decade tenure as chief of the Chandigarh Athletics body, tried his best and proposed synthetic running track in the city multiple times, but to no avail.
“It is a pity that Chandigarh doesn’t have a single synthetic running track. There is so much talent in the city, but how do they hone their skills without adequate facilities. They either have to go to the Panchkula stadium or sometimes migrate to another state for better facilities. In the recent Khelo India Youth Games, Chandigarh could not fetch a single medal in athletics, which is a shame. Neeraj Chopra was a product of DAV College, but even he used to practice in Panchkula,” said a senior athletics coach.
After making several promises, the project to lay an all-weather synthetic track at the Sector 42 Sports Complex was finally put on paper in 2012 . Two years later, the Sector 42 Sports Complex was removed from the proposal and it was proposed that Post Graduate Government College, Sector 46, will have the synthetic track. However, this proposal has not seen the light of day. Now, the administration has shortlisted the Sector 7 Sports Complex, which has a dirt track for athletics, to lay the 10-lane synthetic running track and upgrade it.
“The issue is that Chandigarh is a UT and decisions are taken and approved by the central government. IAS and PCS officers make these calls, as a result of which such sports-related decisions keep on lingering. Just see what amazing work Haryana sports minister Sandeep Singh is doing. As he is the former captain of the India hockey team, he knows the importance of having a good sports policy and building modern infrastructure,” said a senior hockey coach. The Chandigarh administration doesn’t have a sports policy yet and it is being worked upon.
Team Chandigarh finished 13th at the recently concluded Khelo India Youth Games with Haryana winning the trophy. The 130-member contingent of Chandigarh won 16 medals, including five gold. It should be noted that all medals came for Chandigarh in individual events. Also, 17-year-old cyclist Reet Kapoor won the bronze for Chandigarh in cycling, despite the city not having any facility for the sport. Reet had to train in New Delhi to hone her skills at the SAI academy.
“For road cycling, Chandigarh is very good as there is good terrain and hills around the city but for track events, we need a proper facility. I have trained mostly outside Chandigarh with help of my father who is a former sportsperson. A lot of cyclists from Chandigarh are facing this issue. Hopefully, things become better and the administration comes up with a plan soon ,” said Reet, who is a student of Carmel Convent School.
Ahead of the recently conducted Khelo India Youth Games, Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Panchkula along with other centres in Haryana were upgraded by the Haryana government. The government, along with Sports Authority of India (SAI) spent ₹ 300 crore to upgrade the infrastructure.
Meanwhile, Mohali has multiple sports complexes run by Greater Mohali Development Area and some of them have been outsourced to private companies. However, there is no synthetic running track in Mohali as well.
Chandigarh boasts of having multiple sports complexes offering facilities for squash, badminton, table tennis, swimming etc. “The administration has done a good job in bringing up the infrastructure over the years. But other states like Haryana, Maharashtra, Orissa and Karnataka have gone much farther in sprucing up the facilities, focusing on the grassroot level and appointing qualified coaches for grooming the athletes. Bringing up a sports policy and having a tuning with the local sports bodies can enhance performance of athletes from Chandigarh,” said a senior wrestling coach.
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