Express News Service

•  The institution says shifting its STC from Sector 18 would prove detrimental

Chandigarh, April 3: The Chandigarh Sports Department's decision to ask the Sports Authority of India (SAI) to vacate their facilities in Government Girls Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 18, has not gone down well with SAI officials.

SAI has its Training Centre (STC) in the school premises where trainees in athletics, basketball, hockey and volleyball disciplines are put up and given specialised coaching. At present there are around 80 trainees at the centre.

But the UT Sports Department has asked SAI to move by April 30 as it would be setting up the Chandigarh Women's Hockey Academy there.

SAI Regional Director (north) SS Rao, however, does not understand the reasoning behind the decision. "We are already providing the kind of facilities that they are planning to. We cater for trainees from the entire northern region. Besides, we already have around 35 to 40 girls receiving coaching in hockey."

The UT Sports Department however, is planning to take in around 24 girls in the age group 13 to 14.

"We have around 35 girls and they want to move us so that they can take in 20-odd. What is the logic in that," he questioned.

He further added that while SAI catered to four disciplines, the proposed academy would just focus on hockey. "In the long run, that will definitely have a detrimental effect on the players in the other disciplines."

Rao was also concerned about the fate of the girls at the centre now. "We don't have space in any of our other hostels in the region. So unless, we find another hostel in Chandigarh for the girls, there is nothing we can do. We are not giving up though. Our Director General has written to the UT Administrator Gen (retd) SF Rodrigues outlining all the facts. I had also written to UT Director of Sports, Inderjit Singh Sandhu, asking him to reconsider the decision but he refused," Rao remarked.

Adding that he felt that the UT Sports Department could easily open a hockey academy somewhere else, he said, "They have so many alternate facilities where they can start the academy. They plan to renovate the facilities at Sector 18. If they can do that, why not spend the money upgrading facilities somewhere else."

Another point to be considered, he said, was that the UT Sports Department would be taking girls on a five-year programme. "The girls will be there only till the age of 17 or 18. At that age they would not really be considered for the senior teams in the country. What will they do then?"

While acknowledging that the UT Sports Department had every right to ask them to move as it was their facilities, he said, "If they set up the academy somewhere else, then we can work in tandem. The girls can always come to us after they finish training there as we accommodate girls up to the age of 21. Having two such centres will also increase the competition and standard of players here."

UT Director of Sports, Inderjit Singh Sandhu, however, said that the academy planned by the department would be far superior to what SAI has. "Ours would be a centre of excellence. We will provide the best of facilities and will be spending around Rs 70,000 per year on each girl. SAI don't have those kind of funds. Besides, SAI is not doing anything special here. Their activities are nominal."

Rao, however, refutes these claims. "We have proven that we have what it takes. The SAI facility here has produced as many as six Arjuna awardees and around 20 international players in hockey alone. Mamta Kharab and Sita Gussain, two of the best players India has were trainees of this centre. Sita was also formerly the captain of the Indian team. What more do they want," he argued.