The Maharashtra Cricket Association’s cricket stadium in Gahunje has, however, taken away all the international and domestic cricket events from the Nehru Stadium. The Maharashtra Cricket Association’s cricket stadium in Gahunje has, however, taken away all the international and domestic cricket events from the Nehru Stadium.

IN the last two decades, the sports infrastructure in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad has grown considerably, most of it when the Commonwealth Youth Games were held in the city in 2008. Sportsmen, coaches and experts feel that while Pune is gradually becoming a preferred destination for receiving training in sports, especially in disciplines such as shooting and lawn tennis, much more needs to be done to inculcate the spirit of sports among the city’s youth by continuing to create sports facilities at schools, residential societies, and even at the ward level.

According to experts, Pune has always had an inclination towards sports and sports facilities in the city were set up early, though most of them were private. According to Sunder Iyer, secretary of the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA), Pune had about 50 tennis courts in 2000; today, it has over 200 such courts. The Chhatrapati Shivaji Sports Complex, Balewadi, which saw a revamp in 2008 ahead of the Commonwealth Youth Games, can also host national camps for various sports.

“The sport infrastructure in the city has grown rapidly after 2000. For lawn tennis, most of the courts were owned by private clubs, such as the Deccan Gymkhana or PYC, earlier. Today, we have over 200 tennis courts, most of which are accessible to local residents. Earlier, only members of the private clubs could use them. At the moment, about 5,000-6,000 sportsmen use the tennis courts in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, of whom 1,000 are registered players,” said Iyer.

CYG 2008 boost & after While the CYG remained in the news long after the event came to an end due to allegations of corruption, the facilities gave a major boost to athletics, contact sports as well as shooting. Thanks to the infrastructural upgrade of the Balewadi Sports Complex ahead of the 2008 CYG games, several national camps to train Indian participants for the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games as well as Olympics were held at Pune, as the city provided world-class facilities.

“Before 2008, the shooting range at Balewadi complex had only seven 10 metre lanes. Today it has 80 10-metre lanes… without doubt, Balewadi stadium has the best infrastructure for shooting in the country. The residential facility at the complex is also of great help as the players don’t have to spend time and energy in travelling,” said Pawan Singh, founder of Gun For Glory, a shooting academy, with Gagan Narang.

However, the problem of lack of maintenance of the facilities at the Balewadi complex has been raised from time to time. In November last year, renowned pistol shooter Heena Sidhu had expressed her displeasure with the way the shooting ranges were maintained.

Civic push, or the lack of it Both PMC and PCMC have recently announced projects aimed at boosting the sports infrastructure in the city. While most plans still remain on paper, even the facilities that have been created over the years remain under-utilised. The PMC-owned Pandit Nehru Stadium at Swargate is the biggest sports property in the city and was recently renovated at a cost of Rs 3.5 crore.

The Maharashtra Cricket Association’s cricket stadium in Gahunje has, however, taken away all the international and domestic cricket events from the Nehru Stadium. The stadium is currently given on rent to private clubs, to hold matches and coaching sessions. Another important sports structure, Sanas Sports ground near Sarasbaug, has an indoor badminton court and athletics track. Recently, PMC has developed a wrestlers’ ground at the Arun Kumar Vaidya Stadium and the Lahiji Vastad Salve boxing ring at Bhavani Peth at a cost of Rs 2.5 crore.

The Bankar Krida Sankul at Hadapsar, developed at a cost of Rs 5.2 crore, has a badminton court and facilities for other indoor sports. Work is going on at the Rajaram Bhiku Pathare School and Sports Complex in Kharadi, which will have a sports hostel, swimming pool and a badminton court. Similarly, a sports complex at Pashan is being developed, and it will have facilities for cricket, tennis and badminton.

Tushar Daundkar, deputy municipal commissioner and in-charge of the sports department, PMC, admitted that it’s difficult for them to maintain the sports facilities. “It is difficult for the PMC to operate and maintain them. They are given on contract to private agencies. We are also coming up with ways to use available sports facilities of the civic body to their maximum capacity and planning construction of new properties. We are also trying to promote sports in civic-run schools,” said Daundkar.

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