Big dreams, small grants; Ludhiana’s sports talent starved

Ludhiana: In a bid to promote sports, Ludhiana district administration has established 24 sports nurseries across the city with facilities for volleyball, athletics, boxing, hockey, cycling, archery, gymnastics, basketball and other games.Coaches were also appointed to nurture talent in urban and rural areas. However, cash crunch may make it very difficult, if not impossible, to achieve these objectives. All the 24 sports nurseries have barely received Rs 2.5 lakh. On an average, each nursery has received Rs 10,000 per month. Sports enthusiasts in the city pointed out that this is not enough to even meet basic monthly expenses of any sports facility. The sports nurseries are located across Ludhiana, including open grounds in nearby villages, govt college and school grounds, to provide initial sports training and facilities to young athletes. The sports nursery for volleyball is located at govt college for girls, Sector 39, the one for football is in Sarabha village, the nursery for gymnastics is at Shaheed e Azam Sukhdev Thapar govt school, the one for athletics is at govt senior secondary school, Sahnewal, for archery, it is at Daba stadium, Daba road, Ludhiana and the nursery for wrestling is at Jagat colony, Khanna.A visit to sports nurseries in the district revealed that sports equipment was not available for athletes of various disciplines. Officials attributed this to lack of finances. Ajitpal, supervisor of sports nurseries, said, "We received a grant of Rs 2.5 lakh for sports nurseries in mid November, 2025. The nurseries are still in the nascent stage. We will get the govt to meet their requirements as soon as possible."He added that officials, in-charges and coaches of these sports nurseries are currently working on trials and selections for athletes who wish to join.District sports officer (DSO) Kuldeep Chugh said concerns about the required sports equipment have been raised with higher authorities. "As of now, the department has bought some of the equipment for the initial phase and beginning of these nurseries. Whatever remains, including grants and sports equipment, will be provided as soon as possible," Chugh said.
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