The beauty of hosting top international tournaments is not about the high-octane, adrenaline-pumping intense competitions. Nor is it just about winning and losing. Hosting an event plays different roles — it brings the people together as a community, helps forge relationships, shower love and accolades, irrespective of religion, caste and creed. Sport unites and binds.
There is another quality too. It acts as an additive. It helps refurbish and convert existing venues into modern, swanky ones. It’s also about that coat of fresh paint on the walls, the railings and the infrastructure upgrades, on par with global standards. This, perhaps, is the legacy the host city looks forward to for its sportspersons. It helps inspire a new generation of athletes too. Away from sports, the city too gets a makeover.
Take, for instance, Mahabalipuram, which wore a festive look when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the UNESCO Heritage site for an informal summit in 2019. But when it hosted the best chess players from across the world for the Chess Olympiad in 2022, it got a fresh makeover. With more people becoming passionate about sports in Tamil Nadu, particularly over the last couple of years, the state is emerging as a sporting powerhouse not just in Olympic disciplines but has shown its intent to host international world-class events.
Last year had been hectic too as Tamil Nadu, and Chennai in particular, hosted multiple national and international events.
The Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium got a new astroturf ahead of the Asian Champions Trophy Hockey event — a major facelift. The astroturf turned blue. Sourced from Germany, the carbon-zero polygrass turf was rolled out. The same astroturf will be used during the Paris Olympics.
The interest in hockey was reignited in a state that has seen many stalwarts, including V Baskaran who led the team to gold in the 1980 Moscow Olympics. Having hosted an international hockey tournament after 13 years, it is no wonder that the state has earned the moniker ‘Emerging Sports Capital of India’ and is giving a tough fight to Odisha.
In terms of sports promotion too, the state has been doing its bit. The state annual sports budget has seen a considerable increase too. In short, sports as a discipline is indeed healthy and a bit wealthier too here, with the influx of `440 crore for the financial year 2024-25.
A good thing about Tamil Nadu is that when it comes to Olympic disciplines, the sportspersons are at the top. Be it athletics where there are multiple champions in Asian Games and other international competitions, or kabaddi and squash, sportspersons have continued to shine on various levels.
Subedar Arokia Rajeev, Ayyasamy Dharun and Vithya Ramraj, to name a few from the state, have stood out in athletics. Chennai also has the Indian Squash Academy — one-of-its-kind in the country — run with funds from the state and the union government. Stars such as Joshna Chinappa, Deepika Pallikal and Saurav Ghosal are some of the illustrious names from the academy.
In table tennis, Sharath Kamal and G Sathiyan are top men’s players from the state. Similarly, there are many in swimming, sailing, surfing, basketball and volleyball, among others.
The list may seem endless. Despite the growing pool of talent, the state continues to focus on the grassroots, and is trying to bring in various measures to inspire more youngsters.
Tamil Nadu Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development Udhayanidhi Stalin, during an interaction last month after the budget, outlined the state government’s plan and also highlighted the measures his ministry has taken ever since he took over.
“I am proud to say that Tamil Nadu is the best state when it comes to promoting sports in the country. And the appreciation of our achievements and efforts is coming in from several quarters,” the minister said, adding, “That is the reason why the state has been awarded Best State for Promoting Sports.”
Apart from promoting sports and sportspersons, the state has developed some high-end infrastructure as well. Some of the notable ones include the Chennai Olympic Academy, High Altitude Centre at Nilgiris, Sports Centre for Para athletes at the TN Sports University, canoeing and kayaking centres and a state-of-the-art sports science centre in Madurai.
The High Altitude Centre in Ooty is considered one of the best where top international athletes come and train. “In Madurai, we launched the Kalaignar Sports Kit programme for over 12,000 district panchayats in the state for Rs 86 crore. An Integrated Centre for Sports Science was also inaugurated,” Udhayanidhi said.
Udhayanidhi also spoke about identifying talented sportspersons and highlighted the Chief Minister’s Trophy in which nearly 3.7 lakh sportspersons participated. The minister also spoke about the successful conduct of the Hockey Asian Champions Trophy.
The World Surfing League also was conducted in Chennai, and so was the Squash World Cup, HCL Cyclothon, Chennai Grandmasters Chess tournament, the Volleyball League and more. As part of grassroots development, the Khelo India Youth Games was held in Chennai and three other cities — Tiruchy, Madurai and Coimbatore. About 5,000 players took part and TN came second for the first time. To ensure athletes get financial assistance, the state started the TN Champions Foundation. Even the chief minister contributed Rs 5 lakh from his funds. According to the sports ministry, more than 300 players benefited and received up to Rs 6 crore so far. There have been recruitments of coaches as well. After 12 years, Sports Development of Tamil Nadu has appointed 76 coaches for multiple disciplines.
The minister also talked about TN athletes doing well at the Asian Games. “They won 28 medals at the Asian Games, including nine gold. For them, the CM gave Rs 9.4 crore. For Para Asian Games — 15 medallists, including two gold winners were felicitated with up to Rs 4 crore cash incentive. Udhayanidhi also outlined the state’s initiative for grassroots development. “To improve the sports infrastructure, we have announced one mini stadium for every legislative constituency. The work is in progress. It will first come up in nine constituencies. Six district sports arenas, four Olympic academies, and six para-sports arenas will come up. In Ramanathapuram, TN Olympic Water Sports Academy is set to get started,” he had said.
There have been positives from the Khelo India Youth Games as well. It was not just about winning medals but about unearthing talent as well. “Last year we were seventh overall on the medals tally and this time we finished second,” he said, adding that the state has identified the sportspersons well.
Novel initiative online
Tamil Nadu perhaps is one of the first states to have put all the certificates won during competitions online. The SDAT portal was revamped and all communications would be online including applications for scholarships. A few days later the Union sports ministry had announced the same.
Meghanath Reddy, member secretary and chief executive officer of the SDAT, had explained the rationale behind the move last month during an interaction. He said that going online will help ensure transparency and ease of business. “The entire certificates of CM Trophy are available on Digilocker. We are the first state that has put all the certificates of all the winners which will help them when they go to other states also. They can access it from anywhere,” he stated.
With more and more events taking place in the state, there is considerable excitement. Cricket, too, is one of the sports but here we are concentrating on sports that need state push. After all for sports to flourish, it has to start from the grassroots. And that’s where Tamil Nadu is expected to excel. Even Odisha cannot match Tamil Nadu’s diverse sports spectrum. With so much of prominence, more stars are expected to be born.