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Athletes miss practise as Sanas ground renovation work goes on at snail’s pace
With the renovation work at Baburao Sanas ground going on at a snail’s pace, the athletes’ routines have been disturbed as professional runners have to go to either Balewadi stadium or the Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) ground for practice while beginners are missing practise altogether
With the renovation work at Baburao Sanas ground going on at a snail’s pace, the athletes’ routines have been disturbed as professional runners have to go to either Balewadi stadium or the Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) ground for practice while beginners are missing practise altogether.
When HT visited the stadium on Wednesday, work was found to be going on at a rather slow clip. Arvind Chavan, coach from the Pune Athletic Club who used to take practice at the Sanas ground, said, “Since October 1, the ground is closed for athletes as renovation work is going on. The professional runners are going to Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Balewadi and I am also taking my runners to Balewadi. The schedule has become hectic and more time is spent in travelling than practising. Professional runners are managing it but beginners are not getting any practice as they find it hard to travel such a long distance.”
“The performance of the athletes is getting impacted, especially school-going ones who are still very new and need daily running practice. They cannot travel for so long after school hours. Sanas was the only ground in the middle of the city and travelling was not an issue. Many new athletes are dropping out due to hectic schedules,” Chavan said.
Meanwhile, the track at the Balewadi stadium remains packed both during morning and evening sessions with a majority of professional athletes going there for practice. “One can practise at the Balewadi stadium only till 10 am, which was not the case with the Sanas ground where one could practise as much as he/she wanted. The support staff at the Sanas ground was very helpful. At Balewadi, there are many constraints. The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) should have coordinated with the Balewadi stadium, which could have helped the athletes going there for practice. The athletes could have trained for longer hours,” Chavan said.
Priyanka Chavarkar, a professional runner, said, “All the athletes are adjusting their schedule accordingly. A few athletes are going to Taljai hills while others are going to the SPPU track or Balewadi stadium. Only athletes who are in their first year or second year at the SPPU are allowed at the SPPU track. Presently, the competition season is underway and we are missing out a lot on practice. At the Balewadi stadium, staff does not allow you to use the track for practice if you don’t have an entry pass. As Balewadi is too far from the city, we practise at the SPPU track. Many runners are also getting injured as they are running on surfaces other than the synthetic track.”
Piyush Bonde, PMC engineer, said, “The work will pick up speed now. The resurfacing work of the synthetic track will be carried out along with its growing lawn in the middle which was covered by grass and shrubs earlier. The old track which is there right now is completely dead. The entire work will take four to five months.” The track at Sanas ground is about 400 metre-long. “After the track is laid out, we will be taking approval certification from the World Athletics body,” Bonde said.
