Come out and play. That was the slogan for the Capital when the Commonwealth Games was held in 2010. A large amount of taxpayers’ money was lavishly spent to host the games, but the aspirations of the common man to have a healthy sporting life, have remained a dream.
The words still lack conviction. The massive sports structures, built with much fanfare, look more like monuments now, and are not put to the optimum use. In the name of security, the common man is not even allowed to walk into the stadiums freely, much in contrast to the good old days. Now, even sports reporters do not have easy access to the stadiums.
Despite plenty of provision for parking vehicles, including basement parking in many venues, it is tough to drive into any of the stadiums. To that extent, the Commonwealth Games has not helped. It has only snuffed whatever little sports culture we had.
With high maintenance and air-conditioning costs, many national federations cannot afford to pay the charges for hosting national championships in such world class venues. It is an abysmal state to watch the infrastructures fade for want of proper competitions.
There are ‘pay and play’ schemes in some of the centres, but there has to be a lot more provision for the same. All the centres have plenty of space, but not the platform for sports lovers to chase their dreams. They need to construct more basketball and tennis courts, which require little maintenance. There can also be plenty of tables to encourage people to venture into table tennis.
The badminton and squash facilities at the Siri Fort Stadium have been used to host world class events, but do not meet the requirements in terms of quantity on a regular basis. There are many tennis courts at the same complex, which cater to all the talented kids, thanks to a professional coaching scheme.
There is no dearth of swimming pools, but the children do not seem to be swimming any more. The organisers of swimming meets vouch for it, as they have to cancel many events for lack of entries.
There is a healthy tendency to run among the citizens of the Capital, as can be viewed from the overwhelming number of entries in the annual half marathon and other such runs. Well, for running you do not need any sporting infrastructure.
Earlier, one could walk into any of the stadiums and exercise in the morning and evening, but that is hard to visualise now. At least the many big parks encourage running in a natural ambience.
Most importantly, the Nehru stadium used to be the hub of all sports. The athletes and the coaches used to stay and train there. Most of the national federations used to have their offices there. One round of the Nehru stadium and one could get the pulse of Indian sports.
Despite all the infrastructures, the authorities do not have space for the national federations. Locked rooms in dusty conditions give a hint about what ails Indian sports.
There was an attempt to bring private sector into the governance of the stadiums, but like all good moves, it found a counter point and was shot down.
All the world class infrastructures need to be people-friendly and at the same time, be financially self-sustaining. That is the only way forward. The government agencies need to let go their stranglehold over Indian sports.
For, in Indian sports, most of the budget vanishes in salaries and maintenance cost. The Capital serves as a classic example. The world class venues stand as mute witness.
