The challenging jigsaw puzzle it had seemed to be all along has finally been solved. And, Kerala — fighting time and the odds stacked against it — is all decked up to host the 35th National Games, across seven districts in the State, starting Saturday.
Apart from being a celebration of Indian sport, the 15-day event could also signal the start of the preparations for next year’s Olympic Games in Rio-de-Janeiro where and the National contingent will hope for an improved medal tally compared to London 2012.
There is a distinct buzz of optimism as nearly 10,000 competitors from 36 units, including the newly carved out State of Telangana, will look to fight it out in 31 disciplines across 29 venues, some brand new and others decently refurbished.
It is the new Greenfield stadium here in Kariyavattom — the first sporting infrastructure project in the country to be built, at a cost of Rs. 161 crore, on an annuity basis — that could well be the seat of immediate attraction, being the venue of the opening ceremony of the Games which will feature both the usual sports protocol and a cultural extravaganza before a full house.
The edifice is by itself is a symbol of the struggle behind Kerala’s preparations to host the Games — mostly due to circumstances rather than any organisational fault.
Long processIt has been a long process, right from when a formal decision to make a bid for the Games was taken on June 23, 2007. It was a wait of more than a year for the State before the Indian Olympic Association announced that it would be given the chance to host the Games for a second time after 1987. The IOA announcement in October 2008 had come with a rider that the Games should be held between May 1 to 16, 2010, which itself was unsettling in more ways than one as the State was left with just a little over 16 months to achieve full readiness.
However, the repeated postponement of the 34th edition in Ranchi — which, though slated to hold the event in 2008, could eventually pull it off only in early 2011 — came as a breather.
It was generally expected then that Kerala would be called upon to be ready in 2013 before the now infamous fracas within the IOA led to India’s suspension from the Olympic fold for more than a year.
Ultimately, the dates of the event was set only by the end of June last year, leaving Kerala with what was a race against time to complete its preparations.
At the end of it all, though, the State — having spent over Rs.390 crore out of a total budget of Rs.611.33 crore on infrastructure — now has new stadia for several events, including two shooting ranges in Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur, a synthetic turf for hockey in Kollam, a tennis centre and a squash centre in the capital, and a worthy indoor stadium in Kannur.
But what could also mark the Kerala Games as completely different from the earlier editions is the Athletes Village in Thiruvananthapuram, built with the help of pre-fabricated technology, as opposed to brick and mortar. Already a hit with the athletes who have arrived here, the Village is also a testimony of Kerala’s attempt to host a cost-effective Games in the middle of a financial crisis.
But, beyond all this, after Union Urban Development Minister, M. Venkaiah Naidu, declares the Games open, it is certain that it will be competitions which will take centre-stage.
With most of the top stars of the various disciplines, barring football and hockey, likely to be seen in action, there will be keen interest in following the progress of various sides vying for the Raja Bhalindra Singh Trophy, given away to the most successful unit taking part in the Games.
Services, as the winner over the last two editions, should start as the favourite for completing a hat-trick ahead of Manipur and Kerala, though the host will fancy its chances to go up the ladder from the poor seventh position it achieved in Ranchi.
This could be a truly memorable event and the beginning of a new chapter in Indian sport if the competition on the field lives up to expectations.
