Lawn tennis courts in F’bad stadium in poor shape

Bijendra Ahlawat

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Two lawn tennis courts built by the Sports Department on the premises of the Nahar Singh International Cricket Stadium in Faridabad three years ago have been lying unused. 

The tennis courts were built at a cost of around Rs 25 lakh but no match has been played on them till date. Wild vegetation can be seen all around and due to lack of maintenance budding tennis players cannot use the facility. “I am practising lawn tennis for the past one year. My family got me enrolled in a private academy in Sector 12, Faridabad, as the tennis courts at the cricket stadium are in a poor shape,” says Shivam, a resident of National Highway-3 of the NIT. 

He says the private academy where he trains is far away and he has to spend extra time and money to go there, as the Nahar Singh stadium facility is not properly maintained. 

Divya (16), another player based in the NIT region, says she had to move to a club in Delhi for lawn tennis training. This inconvenience could have been avoided if the courts at the stadium were maintained, she adds. 

Varun Kumar, a sports enthusiast, says negligence on the part of the Sports Department is responsible for the mess. He claims that no match has ever been played on these courts built at a cost of several lakh of rupees. 

Sources in the department admit that the courts have become a victim of negligence and have failed to serve the purpose for which they were built. These were the first clay courts built in the district and practice on such a surface helps players to acquire skills required to play on the regular grass court. 

Pravin Sharma, who had applied for a tender for running the courts more than two years ago, claims that though he had deposited the security amount, the department has not issued him the permission letter till date. Six persons had applied for tenders to operate the Nahar stadium facility, but the process was dropped without stating any reason, he alleges. 

District Sports Officer Mary Masih says that she has been trying her best to revive the facility and make it operational. The matter has already been brought to the notice of the higher authorities, she adds.