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Ludhiana: Basketball courts at LBA’s home turf in need of upgrade
It has been six years since the project to develop the two outdoor basketball courts at Guru Nanak Stadium into indoor ones at a cost of ₹9.72 crore was mooted under the Smart City Project, but the work is yet to begin; the stadium is home to the Ludhiana Basketball Academy, which has produced top players over the years and currently has only one indoor court which came up in 2001 and the two outdoor courts came up in 1981
It has been six years since the project to develop the two outdoor basketball courts at Guru Nanak Stadium into indoor ones at a cost of ₹9.72 crore was mooted under the Smart City Project, but the work is yet to begin.
The stadium is home to the Ludhiana Basketball Academy, which has produced top players over the years and currently has only one indoor court which came up in 2001 and the two outdoor courts came up in 1981.
With national and international tournaments fully shifting to indoor courts made of maple wood, upgrading infrastructure at the stadium is the need of the hour, said Rajinder Singh, a coach at the academy
“Playing on outdoor courts can injure players and affect their game, but due to lack of infrastructure, we have no option but to use them. Several tournaments are also hosted at the stadium regularly there is a need for more than one indoor court,” he added.
A sports department official said, “At the last national level championship hosted at the Guru Nanak Stadium, the district administration had promised to start the project at the earliest, but nothing has been done so far.”
Anmol Singh, a player at the academy said, “The lack of better courts puts players at a disadvantage. The outdoor grounds are no longer relevant and the indoor court also needs repair.”
Teja Singh Dhaliwal, general secretary of Punjab Basketball Association, said, “The academy has been a fountainhead of quality players to the region and has lifted the level of the game in the country. Despite these achievements. the government is failing to fulfil even the most basic needs, which also demotivates young players.”
District sports officer Ravinder Singh was not available for comments.
Superintending engineer of the municipal corporation Sanjay Kanwar, said, “We have just invited tenders for development of basketball courts at the stadium. The process will take around one and a half months, after which we will start the project.” He said the work is likely be completed by March.
Gurpreet Gopi, councillor from ward 94, said, “Despite having funding under the Smart City project, MC has failed to improve sports infrastructure in the city, because of which many talented youngsters are losing the opportunity to become better players.”
Ludhiana Basketball Academy was established in the year 2002 and has produced over 50 players, including Satnam Singh Bhamara, Arshpreet Singh and Rahul Mehla, who have played in prominent professional basketball leagues including National Basketball Association in the USA. Currently, there are 55 players training at the academy including 23 girls.
The other projects to uplift the sports infrastructure in the city which are yet to see the light of the day are upgrading Shastri Hall at Guru Nanak Stadium; an all-weather swimming pool near Rakhbag and relaying of a synthetic track at Guru Nanak Stadium and hockey ground at PAU.
