Bangalore: The inevitable has happened. The National Youth Games, scheduled between July 22 and 29, may be postponed to November-December after the Department of Youth Services and Sports (DYSS) realised it was locked in a hopeless race against time as it prepared the ground for the inaugural edition. The DYSS has already recommended to the government that the Games be put off by a few months. The reason given is the lessthan-impressive preparatory phase, thanks to elections and monsoon but more specifically, the department feels it has been done in by poor infrastructure for athletics.

With the Kanteerava track beyond redemption, the DYSS had turned to the Sports Authority of India (SAI) to conduct the events at the south centre campus. But SAI expressed its inability, saying that the Games would clash with the Olympic preparations of athletes including long jumper Anju Bobby George and middle distance runner Preeja Sridharan.

Hockey was another area of concern, what with the turf at the KSHA stadium too crying for attention, but the DYSS had seemingly overcome the hurdle after SAI said it had no problems in allowing its turf to be used for the Games. But with athletics suffering a savage blow, there was no option before the department but to seek postponement of the Games.

A decision from the government is expected soon.

Even now, the Youth Games, which have seen many postponements ever since they were slated to be held here in 2004, are positioned on thin ice. The Jharkhand National Games are scheduled from December 1-13 while Karnataka has bid for the National hockey championships, which they are keen to hold during the same month. Whether the Youth Games can be squeezed into an already tight menu is the million-dollar question.

“The Jharkhand Games may be postponed again because work on infrastructure is not over yet,” DYSS sources told TOI. “In case that happens, we will have the Games in November. In any case, the ball is in the Indian Olympic Association court. They have been informed about the need to put off the Youth Games and our proposal to hold them towards the end of the year. They will give us fresh dates after checking out other engagements during that period.”

One fallout of the postponement is that the IOA will be deprived of ready records to select the contingent for the Pune Commonwealth Youth Games in October.

As such, the National Youth Games will come as a standalone event without much purpose. Whether it will inspire sports federations and young sportspersons to do the hard yards again, particularly after an event of a bigger magnitude, is a moot point. Perhaps, the carrot of being part of probable squads for the 2009 Asian Youth Games and 2010 Youth Olympics, both in Singapore, may help.

FAST FACTS

National Youth Games postponed because of lessthan-impressive preparatory phase. Besides elections and monsoon, poor athletics infrastructure did the DYSS in.

The DYSS expected SAI to bail it out. But SAI refused, saying its facilities will be used by Olympics-bound athletes