A majority of the track events of the Kerala State College Games, scheduled to begin on Saturday, will be held at the Maharaja's College ground in Ernakulam. The objective of the meet is to provide a platform to the future stars in the state to showcase their talent. However, the synthetic track at the venue paints a sorry picture of the state of sports in Kerala.
The track is ravaged by extreme weather conditions and is unfit to hold a state-level event. The work on relaying the damaged track is progressing at a snail's pace. Going by the progress of the work, the new track will not be ready before the end of the monsoon season. However, the Kerala State Sports Council has decided to go ahead with the college meet, unconcerned about the safety and wellbeing of young athletes. Recently, the organisers have carried out some repair works to give it some semblance of a running track. When mediapersons questioned Sports Council President Mercy Kuttan about the dilapidated condition of the track, she claimed that the facility was in good shape and that it had successfully hosted the state masters athletics meet recently.
Over 1,800 participants
The Kerala State College Games will be held across eight venues in Ernakulam district. MA College ground at Kothamangalam will host the throw events and combined track and field events. Around 1,800 athletes representing 140 colleges affiliated to eight universities in the state will take part in the two-day event. Competitions will be held in athletics, football, volleyball, basketball, badminton, boxing, and wrestling.