THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Sports Minister M Vijayakumar, who has been instrumental in bringing the 35th National Games to the State, has one good reason to cherish. The Minister, who had dreamt of holding the Games during his tenure, could at least wave the National Games flag at the University Stadium, the main venue of the Games proposed to be held in December 2012.
The event was the grand reception accorded to the Indian Olympic Association’s (IOA) flag of the 35th National Games on Tuesday. The flag was flown in from Ranchi, where it was handed over to the State during the closing ceremony of the 34th National Games there.
Asian Games gold winner Preeja Sreedharan, who carried the flag along with 35 athletes of the State, rallied around the Stadium, accompanied by mounted police, before handing it over to the Minister for Sports, M Vijayakumar, who, in turn, officially handed it over to the Chief Minister, V S Achuthanandan.
The Chief Minister also launched the State Sports Development Fund for the welfare of athletes, the ‘Go for Gold’ programme of the State Government, aimed at grooming young athletes in the State for winning gold medals in the 2016 Olympics, and inaugurated the renovated University Stadium, which is the main venue of the 35th National Games, on the occasion.
The renovated stadium is furnished with amenities of international standards like a new turf made of Mexican blue grass, fully airconditioned pavilion complex which houses changing rooms of players, referees’ rooms, committee room, anti-doping test facility and a room for first aid, sports medicine centre and also a modernised gymnasium for the athletes. A new elevator has been installed in the gallery for the convenience of spectators.
To water the grass turf, automatic sprinklers, which are seen only in stadiums of international standards, have also been installed under the turf here, apart from a new jumping pit for the long jump event.
Another key feature of the stadium is the fire-fighting facility which is also on par with international standards, according to the authorities. A water tank having a capacity of about 2,000 litres has also been constructed in the stadium for this purpose.
The ceremony was also attended by Minister V Surendran Pillai, Sports Authority of India Director G Kishore, State Sports Council president T P Dasan and National Games Chief Executive Officer Amit Mallik.
The sports awards announced by the State Government and the cash awards for medal winners at the recently-concluded National Games were also distributed during the ceremony. Thankachan Mathew bagged the award for the best coach and Raju Paul (St George HSS, Kothamangalam) won the award for the best Physical Education teacher. Ansar S Raj (‘Kerala Kaumudi’) and P N Sreevalsan (‘Malayala Manorama’) won the awards for best sports journalist and best sports photographer respectively.
trivandrum@expressbuzz.com