Gurugram hockey ground in dire state as officials pass the buck

Broken fencing, torn turf, non-functional motors plague ground; school, sports dept trade blame as stipends remain pending

Despite the Haryana government’s push to upgrade sports infrastructure, a hockey nursery in Gurugram village is in a dilapidated state, lacking basic facilities and posing safety risks to students training there.

Students train amid unsafe conditions, funding delays; confusion over upkeep stalls repairs despite budget push in Haryana (HT Photo)

Located inside the government senior secondary boys’ school in Gurugram village, the ground has not undergone repairs for at least two years, according to players. A spot inspection by HT on Monday found that fencing around the ground was largely broken, with snapped wires leaving the premises exposed to intrusions.

Students said no authority was taking responsibility for the stadium, with the school and sports department blaming each other. Seema Saini, the principal, said upkeep falls under the sports department. “It is a government ground inside the premises of our school. The government should take its responsibility. It is not in our hands,” she said.

Meanwhile, district sports officer of Gurugram, Aarti Kohli, said maintenance of the ground does not fall under the sports department . “We only conduct inspections and can issue notices to the nurseries for repair work if anything is found to be faulty during the survey. We have asked the school to repair the ground, but the expenses have to be borne by them,” Kohli told HT.

Fencing snapped, goalposts rusted, drains exposed; coach alleges stipend dues as maintenance burden falls on locals (HT)

Rajesh Saini, a coach at the ground, said the district sports office was earlier in charge but, around three years ago, wrote to the school handing over control. He said the principal declined to take charge without an order from the education department. “The ground is stuck between the sports department and the school, and the children are suffering because of this confusion,” said Saini, a retired police officer.

HT did not independently verify the claims.

On expenses, Saini said he funds maintenance from his own pocket, with support from senior hockey players and donations from villagers. He also claimed that stipends provided by the DSO for the coach and 20 players have been pending for around six months. “Some children have got their stipend for two to three months, but still there are pending dues,” he said.

Fifteen-year-old Yogender Saini, a student of the school who has been training at the ground for six years and has played at district, state and local levels, said the infrastructure has steadily deteriorated. The goalposts are rusted with torn nets, while concrete slabs covering drainage channels are broken, increasing the risk of injuries during practice.

“Around three to four months ago, a student got seriously injured when one of the broken fences fell on him, making a deep cut on his left leg,” Saini claimed.

Meanwhile, Priyanshu Rajput, 16, who has been training at the ground for four years, said the synthetic grass mats are torn in multiple places. “It is very difficult to play in such conditions. Despite complaints, there is no work done on the development of the ground,” he said, adding that both motors used to pump and spray water on the artificial turf have been non-functional for a long time.

The issue extends beyond the village nursery. The state-maintained Nehru Stadium is also grappling with infrastructure problems. “One of the motors supplying water to the hockey ground was non-functional for nearly a week before being repaired on Friday, while the artificial turf remains torn,” said Ashok Kumar, a hockey coachat Nehru Stadium.

HT had earlier reported that several buildings in theNehru stadium complex, declared unsafe by the Public Welfare Department (PwD), are yet to be demolished. “The PwD has asked for ₹7 lakhs to carry out demolition work of the three buildings. We have submitted the proposal to the higher authorities, and it will be completed as soon as the budget is approved,” Kohli said.

She added that tenders have been floated for building changing rooms and washrooms at the complex. The developments come even as Haryana doubled its sports infrastructure budget from ₹590 crore to ₹989 crore in 2024–25.