CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu’s sports ecosystem unloaded their operational frustrations in the first open-door meeting convened by Sports Minister Aadhav Arjuna on Thursday, with officials and stakeholders pushing for more vigour in grassroots athlete development, district infrastructure and long-term support systems.
The discussions, attended by officials and representatives from athletics, handball, cycling, wrestling, skating, volleyball, rowing and sailing associations, repeatedly stressed the gap between the state’s sporting ambitions and conditions on the ground.
While acknowledging that “many marque events were conducted” in recent years, including international hockey tournaments, the sports minister said the focus must now move towards grassroots participation and athlete development. “If we spend Rs 100 crore on an international match, we must also spend on lakhs of youths, especially women, to help them continue playing,” he said.
The discussions focused heavily on scouting grassroots talents and school-level sports integration. SDAT officials said talent identification was largely unexplored instead of long-term athlete development based on age, body type and suitability. They also urged the government to make sports compulsory from the primary school level and consider incentives such as bonus marks for athletes performing at the national level.
The minister said the government would soon hold discussions with the School Education Department and physical education teachers as part of a broader sports and Olympic policy.
The Sports Department office and his chamber had been shifted to the Nehru Indoor Stadium campus to improve accessibility and decision-making. “We fought to fix things and failed; now we are in a position to fix them within the government,” he said, referring to his earlier stint in the Tamil Nadu Olympic Association.
Despite TN having a high number of synthetic tracks, stakeholders said several venues still lacked basic facilities such as toilets, drinking water and equipment storage. During tournaments, officials noted, equipment, including pole vault mats, often have to be transported between districts. Handball representatives said players trained on mud courts for most of the year before competing on indoor surfaces at national events due to a lack of standard indoor infrastructure in districts.
Associations also flagged the growing financial burden on athletes participating in national tournaments, particularly juniors and the absence of physiotherapists and support staff.
The minister responded that the government is examining proposals to provide logistical support for recognised associations, including possible travel assistance, accommodation support and physiotherapists accompanying state teams.
Another concern was athlete retention after recruitment through sports quotas. Associations said several recruits later struggled to continue training or competing.
“The government is exploring a single-window system to speed up sports quota appointments and retain athletes within Tamil Nadu’s sports ecosystem,” the minister said.