PU to have another multipurpose hall

The Panjab University campus will soon have a multipurpose indoor hall housing basketball, volleyball and other indoor sports facilities. This move of the Directorate of Sports will not only benefit the local cagers and spikers but also allow the university to host national championships such as Khelo India University Games.

As per the plan, the authorities will convert the current open-air arenas of basketball and volleyball with prefabricated structures at an approximate cost of Rs 5 crore. The existing arenas have cinder volleyball and hard-surface basketball courts.

At present, the university has two indoor facilities. The Gymnasium Hall located at the building of the Directorate of Sports houses wooden courts for hosting badminton meets, a gym for members, a physiotherapy centre and is also used for organising various indoor meets, award ceremonies and convocations. The other is 25m swimming pool, which is mainly used by professional swimmers and members.

“The new indoor structure will be built at an approximate budget of Rs 5 crore, with the aim of hosting the Khelo India University Games for next session. It will be a multipurpose hall, mainly offering facilities for basketball, volleyball and other indoor sports. Having an indoor facility is a much-needed arrangement for the benefit of sportspersons and for the university as well for hosting some major events,” said Dr Rakesh Malik, Director Sports, Panjab University. “The facility will be also made available for international and national camps, so to have a Khelo India Centre here approved by the Sports Authority of India,” said an official.

However, it’s still not clear if the new pre-fabricated structure will be an air-conditioned facility, like the existing Gymnasium Hall.

In recent years, the university has developed a synthetic hockey field, an indoor shooting range, a cricket ground and underground water sprinkler system. “The upcoming indoor facility will be an important addition to the infrastructure, but the university should also focus on getting a synthetic track for university athletes. This will make the campus fully capable of hosting national championships of various events and can also become a revenue generating source for the university,” said a local coach.