VISAKHAPATNAM: Having produced around 15 international athletes, including Olympians and Asian medallists, Visakhapatnam is yet to have a standard 400-metre synthetic athletics track, a facility that athletes and coaches say is crucial for nurturing the next generation of talent in North Coastal Andhra.
The Visakhapatnam District Athletics Association has renewed its demand for establishing a synthetic track in the city, stating that the absence of such infrastructure forces athletes to train on mud tracks or travel to cities such as Hyderabad and Bengaluru for advanced training.
According to the association, Visakhapatnam’s favourable coastal climate allows year-round training, making it a suitable location for a high-performance athletics centre. “The proposed facility would cater not only to athletes from Visakhapatnam but also those from Vizianagaram, Srikakulam, Alluri Sitarama Raju and Anakapalli districts,” it stated.
The association said a synthetic track would strengthen the region’s sports infrastructure, provide better training facilities for young athletes and enable the city to host state and national-level athletics competitions.
General secretary of the association M Narayana Rao noted that athletes from the district had achieved success at the national and international levels despite the lack of basic infrastructure. “The demand for a synthetic track had remained pending for more than 15 years and had become increasingly important with the growing number of athletes taking up the sport,” he opined
The association also pointed out that the proposed facility is in line with the objectives of the Andhra Pradesh Sports Policy 2024-29, which seeks to improve sports infrastructure and promote sporting excellence across the State.
It expressed hope that the project would be taken up on priority, stating that a standard synthetic track would help develop local talent.