Kanteerava for athletics alone

BENGALURU: Top former athletes including Ashwini Nachappa appealed to the government on Saturday to ensure that the Junior Federation Cup athletics meet, scheduled at the Sree Kanteerava stadium from May 3, goes on without any hiccup and allow the athletes to make full use of the stadium throughout the year.
"Our athletes have waited for the last one-and-a-half years to train at the stadium. But we were told that the City is hosting the U-17 World Cup and so BFC needed the stadium till such time the tournament is over.Now that the event is not happening in the City we request the government to take steps to help the athletes use the track and the field," former sprint queen Ashwini told reporters here.
"We are not against any sport but there is a stadium exclusively meant for football. This is the only stadium for athletics and we want the Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports (DYES) to take note of our representations and see to it that the training and competition of our athletes are not hampered," Ashwini, a vice-president of the Karnataka Amateur Athletics Association (KAAA), added.
"We last won the overall title at the junior Nationals in 1992 and it is time our officials took note of this and helped our athletes to train at the stadium. With the field out of bounds there is no place for the throwers to train. They were asked to go to the 200m track but that place is now taken over by the archers," Ashwini said.
Former athlete and Dhyanchand award winner Uday K Prabhu, also a vice-president of KAAA, said it is time the officials took action to solve the athletes’ problems. "We don’t want to escalate the crisis but if needed we are ready for it. We want to make it clear that Junior Federation Cup athletics will be held at the Sree Kanteerava stadium from May 3-5," he said.
Incidentally, state home minister G Parameshwara, who couldn’t make it to the press conference, is the president of KAAA and athletes and coaches hoped that the minister would soon intervene to resolve the matter. "We have given another representation on Saturday signed by athletes, coaches and former stars, to DYES urging them not to continue the lease with BFC. This is the fourth time we are submitting a petition," Prabhu said.
KAAA secretary N Chandrasekhar Rai said the events in the Junior Fed Cup would be held from 6am to 9am and from 5pm to 8.30pm owing to the searing heat. Around 500 entries have been received and the meet will double up as selection trials for the Asian and World Junior meet.
Meanwhile, BFC officials said they are still hopeful of a solution on the issue and will come out with an official statement on Sunday.
Stadium is allotted to KAAA: DYES director
The Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports (DYES) on Saturday made it clear that the Sree Kanteerava stadium is booked by the Karnataka Amateur Athletics Association (KAAA) from May 3-5.
"There is no confusion on this as the booking is now online. The KAAA booked the stadium a month back and also marked a copy to me. A government order was also issued allotting the stadium to KAAA for the conduct of the meet (Junior Fed Cup). The football officials tried to book the stadium just 4-5 days back," DYES director N Shivaprasad told STOI.
Asked about the agreement between Bengaluru FC and DYES for the use of the stadium, Shivaprasad said he is not fully aware of the details of the agreement which was made a few years back.