Punjab state games: Participants rue lack of facilities, mismanagement

Deepankar Sharda

Tribune News Service

Mohali, January 22

No lunch for the players at the tournament venue and forcing them to sleep on the floor with minimum cushion in cold winter nights — the organisers of the U-18 Punjab Raj Khedan are “definitely not acting as good hosts”.

The ongoing Punjab state games are turning out to be a nightmare for the participants, who have come from different parts of the state to compete in the swimming and gymnastics competitions, which began here on Tuesday.

Due to persisting problems at the Sector 78 Sports Complex, the venue of the championship was shifted to Panjab University, but the organisers allegedly failed to provide lunch to the participants.

While some of them managed to buy their own food, the others had to wait till they returned to the Sector 78 Sports Complex to get the food.

Though the organisers claimed that only one team, which came to the tournament venue without registration, faced the problem, the participants rued the mismanagement.

“There is only one team which complained about the food at the tournament venue. We have set up the players’ mess at the Sector 78 Sports Complex and all arrangements have been made there. Those who are registered with us are provided with transportation facility to the tournament venue. However, this particular team reached Panjab University directly, which led to some issues,” said District Sports Officer Surjit Singh.

“I accompanied them to the Sector 78 Sports Complex after their event and there was no problem at all,” the officer claimed.

However, the participants rubbished his claims and said there was no intimation about the dates of the tournament and they were left with no other option but to reach the venue directly.

“We had to manage for our food. If the tournament is shifted to Panjab University, the organisers could have at least provided participants with snacks or milk,” said one of the participants.

At the Sector 78 Sports Complex, the players were surprised when they were provided with the bedding and told to sleep on a floor of one of the halls.

“The authorities provided us with the bedding and told us to sleep on the floor. We have been accommodated inside the basketball hall. It’s definitely going to affect our performance as the local players (from Mohali) will have an advantage of having proper rest,” said another participant.

Making the things even worse, the organisers provided players with floor mats instead of chairs to have their dinner.

“The facilities at the recently-concluded Khelo India Games were much better and a state like Punjab should learn from it. Punjab Sports Minister and Director Sports both visited the Khelo India venue and they should compare the treatment meted out to the players during that event and here,” said a coach, requesting anonymity.