Kurukshetra stadium to get astroturf field
Vishal Joshi
Tribune News Service
Kurukshetra, March 4
Budding hockey players at the regional centre of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) here are all set to have an astroturf field.
“Astroturf field will be spread over 2.75 acres at Dronacharya Stadium and it will cost Rs 8 crore. The work is expected to complete by April,” said District Sports Officer Jai Bhagwan.
The modern sports facility is being funded under Khelo India, a flagship programme of the Centre. Sources said there were about 50 trees at the identified site and permission would soon be sought from the Forest Department to axe them.
At present, more than 60 hockey players are enrolled at the SAI’s hockey coaching facility. They are being trained on the grass ground.
Hockey enthusiasts have been demanding an astroturf at the Kurukshetra centre for long. “Since 1983, the centre has produced more than 10 players who represented India at the international level,” a coach said.
“Surinder Palad, who played in the last Olympics, is the latest talent from our nursery. If equipped with an astroturf, the Kurukshetra centre has the potential to nurture more talented players. The modern facility will also benefit hockey players of Kurukshetra University and other institutions in the district,” he said.
On the demand of the Kurukshetra Hockey Development Group, a group of hockey aficionados, Kurukshetra University had, in 2013, offered land to the state government to lay the astroturf. But the project did not materialise.
The group had initiated a signature campaign for an astroturf. More than 20,000 persons had supported it.
