ISL over Indian Athletics: Anju Bobby George, AFI slam sports ministry

Anju Bobby GeorgeLegendary long jumper Anju Bobby George and the Athletics Federation of India today slammed the Sports Ministry for denying permission to host National Championships by locking up stadia in various cities for the cashrich Indian Super League ISL football tournament Anju the lone Indian track and field athlete to win a World Championships medal said that stadia meant for track and field in New Delhi Bengaluru and Chennai have been rendered out of bounds for the athletes for competition as well as for trainingFootball has taken over athletics everywhere there is no place for athletes to train and to compete See at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi Kanteerava in Bengaluru and JLN Stadium in Chennai you cannot use these venues as football tournament read ISL is going on Where do the athletes go It is very sad Anju fumed at a press conference to announce the Run Adam Federation Cup National Senior Athletics Championships in Patiala from March 5 to 8Even the athletes are not allowed to do practice at these venues be it in Delhi or the SAI Centre in Bengaluru These venues in Delhi Chennai and Bengaluru have good tracks and are basically athletics stadia But strangely they are not being used for athletics said Anju who is also a government observer for athletics AFI Secretary CK Valson said the federation wanted to host the Federation Cup at the JLN Stadium in the national capital but it was not available due to the ISLLast year also the same championships was initially scheduled to be held at the JLN but later shifted to NIS Patiala after the AFI was told to have the field events shot put javelin and discus at the adjacent training groundFor 67 months all these stadia where there are good tracks and good facilities for field events are being booked by ISL Then where will we go where will the athletes go We have to host these national championships in Patiala or somewhere he saidLast time also we wanted to host the Federation Cup at the JLN Stadium here but had to shifted to Patiala at the last minute because of the ISL matches They will not allow us to use the central area of the pitch for throw events They wanted our athletes to do throw events at the adjacent training ground This time also we made the request but because of ISL we cannot use the JLN Stadium for Federation Cup he added The JLN Stadium here is being booked for ISL matches by the Delhi franchise by paying a huge sum to the government The centre pitch is the most important part for a football match and the ISL is very strict on the good quality of pitches If an athletics field event is held on this central portion there is every chance of the green pitch being damaged So this central pitch is the bone of contentionThe Fed Cup is a National Championship and a qualifying event for Commonwealth Games Do you expect the athletes to compete at the training ground I want to ask a question to the government whether you want to commercialise sports or you want Olympics or Asian or Commonwealth medal asked Valson It is also learnt that the sports ministry initially demanded the AFI Rs 15 lakh for using the road surrounding the JLN Stadium for the National Race Walk Championship on February 17 but later allowed the federation to use it for free following intervention by higher authoritiesMeanwhile more than 700 athletes will take part in the Federation Cup which will serve as a qualifying event for the Gold Coast CWG After the event is over on March 8 the selection committee of the AFI will pick the Indian team the next day Four race walkers two men and two women each in 20km have already been picked in the Indian team after the February 1718 National Championship here Valson said that no athlete who does not take part in the Federation Cup will be picked for the Commonwealth Games even if he crosses the qualifying mark or is a national record holder This years Federation Cup is being sponsored by Run Adam a sporting talent app Run Adam also sponsored the Indian Grand Prix1 the season opener of AFI which was held yesterday at NIS PatialaCatch up on all the latest sports news and updates hereDownload the new midday Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go