Excelsior Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 22: The game which has produced skippers of the country from J&K and has given it most number of medals at the national and international scene, is witnessing its infrastructure squeezing on a fast pace.
Worried over reducing training fields in the sports hub of Winter Capital of Jammu, the Jammu and Kashmir Handball Association (JKHA) has approached the authorities concerned but, unfortunately, the efforts turn out to be a futile exercise.
“In the past some time, the number of playingfields within the Jammu city have been reduced to one as against the three regular training centres. Two regular coaching centres of MA Stadium and Mini Stadium, Parade have been shifted to one place i.e. Shastri Nagar Play fields,” expressing his concern, general secretary of the JKHA, Ashwani Raina said.
Finding it difficult to convince the higher ups in the J&K Sports Council (JKSC), the organisation responsible for up keep of the sports infrastructure, the JKHA has submitted a request with the Advisor to the Lt. Governor, Farooq Khan, recently.
“Finding it difficult to convince the office of the Secretary JKSC with regard to relocation of three centres to one place that too far away from the old city, we have approached the Advisor Sports in this regard and conveyed our concern,” maintained Raina.
The JKHA has also rued the ill treatment meted out to sports hub of Jammu and poor planning by the Sports departments in setting up the modern sports infrastructure under Prime Minister Package.
“The Association is surprised to know that district Udhampur has been selected for setting up of first of its kind synthetic Handball court thereby denying hub of sports (Jammu) the modern facility,” informed general secretary of the JKHA.
It is pertinent to mention here that Handball has maximum number of medal winners at the international level from J&K and those celebrity players at present hold higher positions in J&K Police and other departments as also Central police and armed forces. SPP Ranjit Singh Chib from J&K was the skipper of the Indian Handball team more than once.
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