Football breaks new ground, TT court in dire straits
Aakanksha N Bhardwaj
Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, March 6
In a heartening news for sports lovers, the football wing will soon start at the sports college here. However, a contrasting tale is that of a table tennis court in the city as the facility continues to be in dire straits for years now.
Whenever a district or state-level championship is organised in the table tennis court, a major concern grips the minds of the organisers—what if it rains? The leaking roof plays spoilsport, leaving the floor wet and players dejected.
Built in the 1980s, the court urgently needs maintenance. For the last five years, the demand to renovate and maintain the sports facility has also been taken up by the Table Tennis Association.
An estimate of Rs 34 lakh has been prepared and the association is desperately waiting for funds.
A member of the association said the court was not at all appropriate for organising state-level tournaments. “It wears a shabby look and its condition is very bad. Earlier, there used a wooden floor that was damaged by termites. It was replaced with a cemented floor. After the renovation, the court will get a synthetic floor. Washrooms will also be renovated,” the association member added.
A visit to the table tennis court reveals the sorry state of affairs. Even as players were training with great enthusiasm, patches caused by water on the walls of the court painted a grim picture of sports infrastructure. The court wears a shabby look from the outside as well. Windows seem to be broken and the building’s exterior also needs repair.
When contacted, Pankaj Sharma, adviser of the Punjab Table Tennis Association, said he was hopeful that the renovation work would start soon and the city would get one-of-its-kind table tennis court.
District Sports Officer Gurpreet Singh said apart from civil works in the court, PU matting will also be done. “The process is on and the work will start soon,” he said.
Cheer for football lovers
In an exciting news for sport lovers, the football wing is finally going to start in the famous sports college of the state.
For the last few decades, despite having a ground, there was no football wing in the college. The ground, which was previously considered unsuitable, is now being upgraded with the grant received from the Central Government under the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) programme for 2013-14. A sum of over Rs 11 lakh has been spent on the project. The work is expected to complete in coming weeks. While the irrigation work has been completed and ground’s levelling is being done, grass sowing will start in a few days. Players, along with the college principal, regular check the levelling work.
College principal Ranbir Singh has been actively working to start sports wings that were discontinued due to one reason or the other. “Now, we will ask the sports department to provide us with a football coach so that the sport can be revived,” he told The Tribune.
The college, founded in 1961 by the then Chief Minister Partap Singh Kairon, was the first sports college in Asia and played a pivotal role in establishing Punjab as a powerhouse in sports.
