AND YOU EXPECT THEM TO BECOME CHAMPIONS
This is the condition 528 young basketball players, including 252 girls, have been made to put up with at the two-day state under-19 basketball tournament that began at Rajpipla on Thursday
Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Friday, October 25, 2013 http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/2/20131025201310250244007963b49c944/AND-YOU-EXPECT-THEM-TO-BECOME-CHAMPIONS.html
Derided for lacking sports culture, Gujarat has taken to promoting sports and the government has come up with the much hyped annual Khel Mahakumbhs. But the young players are treated with utter contempt. Check with the teams participating in the two-day state level school basketball tournament that began at Rajpipla on Thursday. As many as 43 squads with 12 members each reached the district headquarters of Narmada district on Wednesday afternoon all charged up to do one better than their performance last year.
Upon reaching there, the girl team members were directed to APH School near Ambubhai Purani High School, the venue. The players had bonded well during the journey and practice sessions earlier. But their enthusiasm came down with a thud when they realised that there was no washroom facility for them to refresh after nearly five hours of road journey in state transport bus. The only source of water was outside the main entrance gate which the watchman locked from outside after sunset.
NO WATER, NO WASHROOM
“The state government must be spending a big amount on this event, but there is no facility worth its name. No water, no washroom facility, irregular electricity and worm infested rooms to sleep. Tell me how can our children perform?” an official with one of the teams told Mirror. “When we enquired with the security guard about drinking water, he asked us to buy it from a market about half a kilometre away.
The girls had to sleep on school benches as the rooms were infested with worms (above). The main entrance was also locked after sunset even though the only water point was outside the school premises
We could do that and we did exactly that, but what about washroom and proper rest?” the official said. Some team co-ordinators were so dissatisfied with the facilities that they tried to check availability of accommodation in nearby guesthouses. “We thought shifting children to a little comfortable place will make them feel safe and secure and also help them perform better. But they were all full. We contacted concerned sports officials but no one picked up the phone,” said an official with a team.
QUALITY OF FOOD WAS POOR
The food on offer, too, was poor quality. “I don’t know about other teams, but my children could not have this food. Most of them did not eat properly and they have one more day to go,” the official said. Narmada District Sports Officer Viral Patel accepted the lack of facilities, but pleaded helplessness. “Please take into consideration that it is a tribal district. It is difficult to put together facilities that children might be used to in their cities.
Moreover, I have taken charge here only two months ago and the venue and accommodation were finalised much earlier,” he said. The tournament is rotated among the districts with a view to promoting sports in the state and it was Rajpipla’s turn to host it this year. “How do you create facilities in a tribal place that can match big cities’?” Patel added. A total of 23 boys team and 21 girls team are participating in the tournament. Each team has 12 members and a few couple of officials, taking the total to about 575.
Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Friday, October 25, 2013 http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/2/20131025201310250244007963b49c944/AND-YOU-EXPECT-THEM-TO-BECOME-CHAMPIONS.html
Derided for lacking sports culture, Gujarat has taken to promoting sports and the government has come up with the much hyped annual Khel Mahakumbhs. But the young players are treated with utter contempt. Check with the teams participating in the two-day state level school basketball tournament that began at Rajpipla on Thursday. As many as 43 squads with 12 members each reached the district headquarters of Narmada district on Wednesday afternoon all charged up to do one better than their performance last year.
Upon reaching there, the girl team members were directed to APH School near Ambubhai Purani High School, the venue. The players had bonded well during the journey and practice sessions earlier. But their enthusiasm came down with a thud when they realised that there was no washroom facility for them to refresh after nearly five hours of road journey in state transport bus. The only source of water was outside the main entrance gate which the watchman locked from outside after sunset.
NO WATER, NO WASHROOM
“The state government must be spending a big amount on this event, but there is no facility worth its name. No water, no washroom facility, irregular electricity and worm infested rooms to sleep. Tell me how can our children perform?” an official with one of the teams told Mirror. “When we enquired with the security guard about drinking water, he asked us to buy it from a market about half a kilometre away.The girls had to sleep on school benches as the rooms were infested with worms (above). The main entrance was also locked after sunset even though the only water point was outside the school premises
We could do that and we did exactly that, but what about washroom and proper rest?” the official said. Some team co-ordinators were so dissatisfied with the facilities that they tried to check availability of accommodation in nearby guesthouses. “We thought shifting children to a little comfortable place will make them feel safe and secure and also help them perform better. But they were all full. We contacted concerned sports officials but no one picked up the phone,” said an official with a team.
QUALITY OF FOOD WAS POOR
The food on offer, too, was poor quality. “I don’t know about other teams, but my children could not have this food. Most of them did not eat properly and they have one more day to go,” the official said. Narmada District Sports Officer Viral Patel accepted the lack of facilities, but pleaded helplessness. “Please take into consideration that it is a tribal district. It is difficult to put together facilities that children might be used to in their cities.
Moreover, I have taken charge here only two months ago and the venue and accommodation were finalised much earlier,” he said. The tournament is rotated among the districts with a view to promoting sports in the state and it was Rajpipla’s turn to host it this year. “How do you create facilities in a tribal place that can match big cities’?” Patel added. A total of 23 boys team and 21 girls team are participating in the tournament. Each team has 12 members and a few couple of officials, taking the total to about 575.
