Sports in Bengaluru at risk of remaining a pale shadow of its glorious past

Poor sporting infrastructure, sports administration, and complete state apathy pose the threat of frustrating Karnataka’s pursuit of glory in any sport, said sporting veterans.

In a panel discussion on ‘Chasing sporting glory’ at Deccan Herald’s Bengaluru 2040 Summit, former Indian badminton player and coach, Vimal Kumar, former international athlete, Reeth Abraham, and former Indian hockey captain Ashish Ballal, were all in agreement that the state’s sporting dream cannot be sustained if the long pending issues thwarting the nurturing of young talents persist.

Bengaluru, once a hub for athletics, hockey, badminton, and table tennis among others, is now struggling to produce a big name in the national and international scene for over a decade now, observed the panelists.

“Even after all these years, we only have one premier athletic arena, the Sree Kanteerava stadium, within the city. When the population has doubled in just a decade, lack of sporting facilities will limit only a few to take up sports,” pointed out Reeth.

"Creating opportunities to unlock potential is the way forward. This will only happen by focusing on building more stadiums for every sport in the city and every district of the state," urged Vimal.

“Take the example of Kerala where the government made it mandatory for each district to have an athletic track, indoor facility, and swimming pool. That's what Karnataka should do. We need 10 acres of land dedicated to public sporting facilities,” he said.

Though the current scenario looks bleak and dim, Ashish hopes the future of sport in the city will move away from the shadows of its peril.

“We need to systematically overcome administrative apathy, and focus more on grassroots development and sports science. We used to have 10 Karnataka guys out of 16 players in Indian hockey until the early 2000s. It is sad to see none from the State in the national squad now. I’m an optimist who hopes people in charge will take note of this downfall to turn it over,” he expressed.