Ensure better facilities for Tamil Nadu athletes, Left parties tell government

CHENNAI: CPM politburo member K Balakrishnan on Monday called upon the Tamil Nadu government to improve basic infrastructure in the Kannagi Nagar area and to ensure better housing and world-class training facilities for promising athletes from underprivileged backgrounds.

Congratulating Tamil Nadu kabaddi players Kannagi Nagar Karthika and Tiruvarur Abinesh, who won gold medals at the Asian Youth Games held in Bahrain, he said their success had brought pride to the State.

In a statement, he said the warm reception and continued applause accorded to the young sportspersons on their return to Tamil Nadu were heartening.

“The victory of Karthika, who hails from Kannagi Nagar, is particularly significant. Her achievement reflects the immense talent that exists among the youth of that area,” he said.

Balakrishnan praised coach Raji for recognising the players’ potential and providing them with training and motivation.

“Raji deserves appreciation and recognition for his role in shaping these young athletes,” he said.

Welcoming Chief Minister MK Stalin’s assurance that the State government would fulfil the requests made by the two players, Balakrishnan urged the government to further increase the incentive amount given to sportspersons and extend sustained support for their development.

CPI state secretary M Veerapandian also urged the government to prioritise the establishment of modern integrated training centres and well-equipped sports grounds to help underprivileged youth develop their sporting talents.

Congratulating Tamil Nadu athletes, he said that Kannagi Nagar has produced a number of young male and female sportspersons who are actively involved in kabaddi and athletics, while in north Chennai’s Vyasarpadi area, many youth are engaged in sports such as carrom, boxing and football.

“Most of these young athletes come from simple, economically weak families without their own houses or land, and represent the most marginalised sections of society,” he said.

Veerapandian called on the government to give priority to creating state-of-the-art training facilities and sports infrastructure to nurture such talent. He noted that the Tamil Nadu government had so far distributed Rs 152.22 crore as incentive awards to 4,617 sportspersons.

“While this initiative is commendable, the government should go further by identifying talented students and young people across the state, providing them with proper training, and developing world-class sports infrastructure to enable them to compete on global platforms such as the Olympics,” he said.

Meanwhile, on her return from Bahrain on Sunday, Asian Youth Games gold medalist, R Karthika, was felicitated by Chief Minister Stalin and was given a reward of Rs 25 lakh.

After meeting CM Stalin, she confirmed that he promised to fulfil all the requirements that they had asked for.

She had thanked the Chief Minister and said, “He enquired about our (Kannagi Nagar Kabaddi team’s) requirements and assured that an indoor training facility would be set up in our neighbourhood. I was also assured of a government job after I turned 18 and a house. I thank the government for its support.”