Allocation of sports wing seats: Trials to commence on September 24

Deepankar Sharda

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 21

Days after Chandigarh Tribune highlighted the delay on part of the Punjab Sports Department in allocating sports wing seats to state colleges, the department has issued a detailed schedule for trials.

As per the schedule, the department will conduct trials to induct players from athletics, basketball, boxing, badminton, cycling, football, gymnastics, hockey, handball, judo, kabaddi, kho-kho, lawn tennis, swimming, table tennis, volleyball, wrestling and weightlifting.

The trials for Punjab colleges affiliated to Panjab University here will be conducted from September 24-25 at Guru Nanak Stadium in Ludhiana. While trials for men will be held on September 24, women’s trial will be held on September 25.

Meanwhile, trials for Punjab colleges affiliated to Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, and Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar, will be held on September 26 (men) and September 27 (women) at the State Sports Complex, Jalandhar. Trials for shortlisting women hockey players for Surjit Hockey Academy will be held on September 27.

Trials for Punjab colleges affiliated to Punjabi University, Patiala, will be held September 28 (men) and September 29 (women) at the Polo Ground, Patiala.

Under the sports wing scheme, a day scholar gets Rs100 per day as diet money, while the amount is doubled for residential athletes. The athletes are also provided training and equipment.

Earlier on September 4, Chandigarh Tribune had highlighted delay in the allocation of sport wing seats. The delay was reported at a time when the admission process had already started. The officials had blamed the Covid pandemic for the delay.

The sports wing seats are usually allocated in May-June. The process to induct players under the reserved seats usually runs for three months from April to June. The colleges get confirmation on the number of seats allotted and hike in diet money, if any, and accordingly, hostel seats are reserved and players get categorised as day scholars and hostellers. The process also helps colleges to induct players before PU inter-college championships.

As per the PU sports calendar, the championships would be conducted from October.

“We were eagerly waiting for this. The department is already late in implementing these schemes. We hope that the selection process will be completed soon,” said a senior coach.

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