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State national school squash games marred by poor management
Poor management, lack of time schedule, absence of monitoring and assistance, lack of shoe racks and accommodation at a faraway location marred the second day of the 67th State National School Squash Championship at the Maharashtra Squash Academy in Undri
Pune: Poor management, lack of time schedule, absence of monitoring and assistance, lack of shoe racks and accommodation at a faraway location in Balewadi marred the second day of the 67th State National School Squash Championship at the Maharashtra Squash Academy in Undri on Thursday.
The school game championship has been organised by the District Sports Office’s School Games Federation.
Samiksha Patil, mother of the two sons taking part in the tournament, said, “The organisers threatened parents who complained about lack of facilities. Teams comprising players 12 years and above from across the country are attending the contest. A single bus arranged by the event managers carried over two hundred students.”
Gautum Munot, another parent said, “The bathrooms have no doors with dry taps. All participants were forced to wait at a small area from 8am to 8pm.”
Ilakshi Jain, another parent said, “There is no waiting space for kids and later at night I realised there was a hall which was opened only for the VIP inauguration. This is supposed to be the only glass squash court in India, but facilities are poor. Construction materials were found near the play area that could pose danger to participants. We request the district collector and police commissioner to look into the pathetic conditions of the school level national squash championship.”
Mahadeo Kasgavade, district sports officer, said, “At least 391 players from seventeen states are participating in the event that started on January 10 and end on January 13. The allegations levelled are false as most of the players belong to rich families and look for affluent facilties at the venue which is not possible.”
