It was an embarrassing moment. The last time Kerala played host to the National Games in 1987 the indoor stadium at the Regional Sports Centre that was slated to be the venue for badminton had to be shifted to Udyogamandal Club.
The stadium was not complete in time for the Games and must have left a few officials red in the face. This time around, for the 35th National Games, when frenzied work is on at the other venues to meet the deadline, the visually dynamic and impressive Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium, with new features is ready for contests.
Like all huge structures this stadium just did not pop up all on a sudden. Think of a barren, denuded, almost four acres parcel of land at Kadavanthra, which during the early 1970s was not prime location. This was the land allotted by the government for the stadium. It took two decades and a little more, the efforts of many dedicated souls, to build this multi-functional stadium and the RSC sports complex brick by brick.
The first steps were initiated by an ad hoc committee headed by Justice P. Govindan Nair sometime in 1975-76. Almost three years later a registered committee was in place with R. Madhavan Nair (president), M.F. Mundaden (secretary) and A.J. Francis (treasurer) as the principal office-bearers. The government had formulated a policy to start regional sports centres in the State and the committee worked in tandem with the government to achieve this goal. The work progressed albeit at snail’s pace.
The accelerator was pressed when the 1987 National Games was announced. Raising funds to build up the structure was top priority. Mundaden recalls how they began a membership drive. Initially, it was fixed at Rs. 1,000. The government did extend help by procuring a Hudco loan but it was not sufficient, the work lagged, and they failed to meet the Games deadline.
Cut to 1991. Mundaden was now president and Babu Joseph the secretary. Only the structure of the stadium had come up. Difference of opinion in the committee regarding the introduction of instalment for the enhanced membership reached a stage where V.J. Kurian, the then District Collector, also the Chairman of RSC decided to intervene. When his efforts to bring in a consensus failed he disbanded the committee retaining the secretary and bringing in the then City Police Commissioner Loknath Behera as president. They were asked to co-opt members.
“Now the onus was on us to do something. We introduced the instalment scheme for the membership and it was successful. Initially we raised Rs 45 lakh. Sale of iron scrap also gave us some money. We started work on the tennis courts first as this would give us some sort of visibility. As the next step we began work on the flooring with the wood that was already lying there. Once people saw that work was in quick progress we managed to get donations, sponsorships and many more memberships. I remember Loknath Behera tell me ‘you get the funds and I’ll see that the work is done,’” recalls Babu Joseph.
In the end of 1993 the indoor stadium, named after Rajiv Gandhi, was inaugurated by Sonia Gandhi. “By then there was a flurry of activity in the stadium. Meanwhile, the late K. Karunakaran who had met with an accident was advised swimming as an exercise. He used to come to the stadium for his morning walks. We decided to construct a swimming pool, which was completed in 42 days. BPCL assured us a fixed amount for monthly maintenance and this pool is still functional. Soon, the RSC became a hub of sporting activity with active participation in tennis, swimming, badminton, and squash. This is a perfect example of a successful project with private and public participation.”
The successive committees kept on adding to the facilities. “What we did was to amend the bylaws to make the RSC a sports centre and not a club, which it was gradually turning into. The student membership and coaching camps was opened up to anyone who wanted to join. The football stadium, athletic track and skating rink were set up, the dormitories spruced up, and set up rain-harvesting facilities. In short, our attempt was to focus on sports. And the results were there with masters like P. Gopichand and Mahesh Bhupathi assisting in the coaching camps,” says former secretary and badminton Arjuna Award winner George Thomas.
The stadium has now been renovated to a tune of Rs. 11 crore. For the forthcoming National Games it plays host to table tennis and badminton. “Spectators will be able to watch the events from air-conditioned, sound-proof galleries. The entire lighting system has been changed and we now have 1,600 lux units. More than 1,000 chairs have been replaced with new ones and the acoustics of the stadium has also been revamped,” informs S.A.S. Navaz, the present RSC secretary.
Not the indoor stadium alone there has been an overhaul improvement of facilities at the RSC, according to Navaz. “The tennis courts have got a nine-layered, flexi-cushioned synthetic surface imported from Australia; we have laid an Italian artificial turf for the football field, fixed the Belgian Schelde basketball backstops and given the wooden flooring inside the stadium an anti-skid polyurethane polish.”
The RSC has also chalked out ambitious future plans. Navaz lists out a couple of them. “In 2016 we hope to conduct a Masters World Badminton Tournament. Also on the anvil is a five-layered swimming pool complex. This will have parking space, sports shop, a gymnastics hall, the pool and a 20,000 sq ft stadium space.”
