Why India struggles for global medals

The athletics turf at Sports Authority of India, Kandivli. Pics/Satej Shinde

The Sports Authority of India's (SAI) National Centre of Excellence (NCoE) in Kandivli is spread across 37 acres. But, the extent of the shambles at the centre is a poor reflection of the facilities our athletes deserve. What was once a thriving ground for development of promising athletes across disciplines now houses trainees from only two sports - wrestling and hockey. And, the hockey turf is in such unplayable condition, that the girls' team has travelled in Bhopal to train.

The hockey turf at the Kandivli centre

If sports-loving citizens of India wonder why podium occupants are few and far between at the Olympics, your answer lies in sporting apathy such as this. The reduced number of disciplines is due to inadequate, improper training facilities for other sports.

mid-day visited the Kandivli centre recently to find that most of its facilities are in terrible shape. The synthetic athletic track lacks grip and is slippery due to poor upkeep. It has holes at different places, making it unsafe to train on. Even the hockey turf, which ought to be green, is unclean and has turned greyish black. Again, unsafe to play on.

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No lack of funds here

Can this be put down to a lack of funds? Not quite. Currently, the National Centres of Excellence (NCOE) here houses a total of 100 male and female trainees - wrestling (60) and hockey (40) - besides eight wrestling coaches and two hockey coaches. The body has the funds for an upgrade, but an ongoing power struggle at the administrative and political level is hampering development.

The worn out and unhygienic hockey turf at the Sports Authority of India campus in Kandivli

A SAI official in the know of things spoke to mid-day on condition of anonymity. "The land on which this facility is situated belongs to the state government and so SAI, which is run by the central government, requires a No Objection Certificate [NOC] from the state authorities to build new infrastructure. Efforts are on to amicably resolve this issue between the state and central government," said the official.

The algae-infested slippery athletics track has holes

"The Centre plans to develop a multi sports complex with state of the art infrastructure, including a High Performance Centre for Sports Science, an Indoor Multipurpose Hall, a 300-bed hostel, a new hockey turf of international standard with flood lights and a refurbished athletics track, among other things," added the official. As part of the Fit India scheme, SAI continues to run the Come and Play scheme which is why many locals use the facilities here, but clearly, it's unsafe and unhygienic.

NCOE's 23 sports disciplines

"SAI's priority continues to be the 23 NCOE disciplines [archery, athletics, boxing, cycling, fencing, football, gymnastic, hockey, handball, judo, kabaddi, kho-kho, kayaking & canaoieng, power lifting, rowing, shooting, swimming, taekwondo, table tennis, volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling, wushu] and the inclusion or exclusion of disciplines at any NCOE is made at the SAI Head Office in New Delhi. This is made on the basis of the available NCOE standard infrastructure/land, local talent availability, etc. Currently, the Kandivli centre is producing top class athletes in hockey and wrestling. SAI's jurisdiction is spread across Maharashtra, Goa and Dadra Nagar Haveli and Daman-Diu. There are two NCOEs in Maharashtra - Mumbai [two sports disciplines], Aurangabad [six sports disciplines] and two SAI Training Centres [STCs] in Goa," the official explained.

A female athlete practising shot put in poor ground conditions

On August 16 and 17, the Mumbai Suburban District Athletics Association (MSDAA) held a district-level state selection meet here. Arthur Fernandes, General Secretary, MSDAA, highlighted the issues faced by the athletes. "The SAI, Kandivli, ground is not conducive for any sports meet. The SAI authorities must urgently look at repairing the athletic track if not relay it completely. The surface can be dangerous for athletes as there are holes in it. There is algae formed across the surface at many places, making it slippery. Since we had booked the venue in advance and the dates couldn't be changed, we went ahead with our meet. But if the condition of this track remains the same, I will have no option but to shift to another venue next time," Fernandes said.

Injury danger for athletes

Another athletics coach, who trains kids here, also feared for their safety. "My students are from middle-class and lower middle-class backgrounds and have financial constraints. Here, we are allowed to train for free, but I ensure the children do not use the entire track as it's unsafe and can injure them. There are so many enthusiastic athletes who train here. It's unfortunate to see this track in such a pathetic state," said the coach. One female athlete, who was training next to the track, said: "I come here for shot put practice despite the ground being in bad shape. Whatever the reason, ultimately we athletes suffer. How can we win international medals, if our grassroot system is like this," she rued.

2015
Year the high-profile centre was established, with facilities to train athletes from multiple sports