The first-ever beach games have begun on the Marina. On Tuesday, the inaugural game was beach hockey. Compared to the neat patch of turf, the rest of the vast sandy expanse - with swarms of crows swooping down to feed on the food litter - was an eye sore. Therein lies the whole idea behind conducting the games.
Organised by the Indian Coast Guard in collaboration with the Sports Development and Research Foundation (SDRF), the beach games - hockey, soccer, volleyball and kabbadi - have been scheduled from January 7-11. A total of 50 teams (30 men and 20 women) drawn from colleges and clubs in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry and Rajasthan, with two German players, are participating in the events.
“Cleaner seas, safer beaches,” Shajen Kurien, DIG, Indian Coast Guard, said, when asked about the objective behind the entire exercise. “We want to create awareness towards clean beaches and educate young boys and girls about sea safety measures.”
Striking a personal note, the officer said he was a resident of Besant Nagar in south Chennai. “Whenever I see a helicopter hovering over the sea in the area, I wonder whether it is another drowning case.”
The sea on the east coast was rough and unsafe for swimming and students ventured into them unaware of the risks, he rued. Besides creating safety awareness, another objective was to promote beach games, which were popular abroad, but yet to take off in India. “Marina is the longest beach in Asia and we want to promote the ‘healthy youth, healthy nation’ concept through games,” Kurien added.
