Future of Mangalore Sports in International Level in DC's Hands !
By Melka Miyar
Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje
Mangalore, Aug 31: India has finished with 50th place in the recently concluded Beijing Olympics, bagging one gold and two bronze medals. India has shown a slight improvement when compared to the last Olympics held in Athens in 2004. The country then had to be satisfied with only a silver medal.
But the major question still remains unanswered. Is the performance worthy of a nation that has a population of over a billion people ?
Definitely India has to look far ahead and go a long way when it comes to Olympics. A tiny country like Jamaica which has a population of about 28 lakhs ( 2.8 million) has finished with 13th place in the Beijing Olympics. Its performance in athletics gained the attention of the entire world. But India, the second largest populated country with a population of over 104 crores, has returned with a meager 3 medals.
The reason for the failure of Indian sportsmen on the Olympic level lies at the grass root level. Total negligence and apathy of the authorities to improve sports amenities to sportsmen finally result in the country performing very poorly at the Olympics.
Mangalore has been successful in sending athletes like Vandana Rao, M R Poovamma to the Olympic arena. But this city totally lacks the basic infrastructure to produce an athlete who can compete in the Olympics.
One should be thankful to Dinesh Kunder, who prepared the ace athlete Poovamma despite having inadequate sports facilities in the city. There are about 3000 qualified coaches in the country. But Dinesh Kunder, in spite of not being a qualified athletics coach , has managed to nurture and train a great talent like M R Poovamma.
The city produces nearly 10 to 15 national athletes every year. Synthetic track is a must for an athlete who wants to compete in the national and international levels. But the track available at the Mangala Stadium is made of cinder , prepared 25 years ago. This cinder track has more disadvantages when compared to the synthetic track. The athlete can suffer from a shin bone or ankle ligament pain if he regularly practices on the cinder track. This track is not good for health since it is prepared out of coal and clay. Presently the synthetic track facility is available only in Bangalore in Karnataka. But not all athletes can afford time and money to go to Bangalore.
Unfortunately the track at Mangala stadium has not been maintained well since years. No watering has been done as the water pump is not repaired . Besides, practicing athletes face stiff resistance from daily strollers who use the track for their morning and evening walks..
Nearly Rs 3 crores is needed to prepare a synthetic track here and it is not a big challenge if the district administration has the will power to do it. According to Dinesh Kunder, the developments in the sports field in the city have been stopped after the transfer of the then District Commissioner Aravind Shrivastav. The stadium committee, headed by the present District Commissioner M Maheshwar Rao, has been constituted to look after the sports development activities in the district. No meeting has yet been called to discuss about any sports activities since a year. What can be expected from such a district administration which has no time to organize a meeting properly, questions Dinesh Kunder.
If Mangalore has to produce quality athletes the DC must look into the issue and take the initiative to review the present status of the city’s Mangala Stadium.
Already, a project has been submitted to the district administration highlighting the urgent need of a synthetic track. But no positive sign has been shown by the district administration yet. One has reason to feel sad when it comes India’s place in sports at the international level. We cannot expect anything good in future until the infrastructure is not improved at the base level.
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