HYDERABAD: The latest household name in gymnastics, Aruna Budda Reddy took her baby steps in the sport at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium. It has been sixteen years since she first took a shot at gymnastics. The 22-year-old city girl was felicitated on Saturday at the same venue where she learned the nuances of the sport. While she appeared ecstatic at the sight of hundreds of people lined up to honour her, she also lamented the fact that “lack of facilities” at the stadium forced her to look for other avenues to stay relevant at the top level.
In an interaction with media, she said that only New Delhi has good facilities in the country. “Since the beginning, I have been training here. The facilities have to be improved a lot. The best facilities are only in Delhi.” She trained in Tashkent (Uzbekistan) before clinching bronze at the Gymnastics World Cup. “My stint there played a big role.
The only reason I go out is because of lack of facilities here. Coaches in India are very good; the only problem is lack of facilities. If the situation is improved, it will not only help me, but the upcoming generation too.” Aruna’s coach, N Brij Kishore, who is currently bedridden and undergoing treatment at the Asian Institute of Gastroenterology, has the same complains as his trainee. “The equipment here is inadequate. I have been asking the authorities about it for long.” According to sources, only basic facilities are available at the stadium.
“In 2002, about Rs 4 crore was spent on them. But they have not been upgraded to the competition- level training equipment for helping athletes like Aruna. Around Rs 70-80 lakh is needed to do that,” said an official. Sports Authority of Telangana State chairman Allipuram Venkateshwar Reddy rued that with a yearly budget of Rs 50 crore, there was not much that could be done. “I recently appealed to the Chief Minister to increase the budget to Rs 200 crore. That will improve the situation to an extent.” Aruna will fly back to Delhi very soon to start her preparations for the upcoming Commonwealth Games. She wishes to train in Tashkent again.
Rs 20 lakh award for Aruna
The athlete was handed a cheque of Rs 20 lakh by the Telangana State government on Saturday evening. She was also declared as the brand ambassador of a housing company, and gifted a villa. “In this moment, I miss my coach, Kishore sir. I wish he was with me on the stage.” Aruna met Kishore at the hospital in the morning. “He was not in a state to speak properly, but still he guided me for CWG.”
vishal@newindianexpress.com