Surface laid at Balewadi, tribute paid to the game

But the surrounding area is layered with debris and can damage the turf even with mild wind blowing

Avinash Rajput

The wait is over as the year long linger for a Polygras surface has finally come true for the hockey players at the Balewadi sports complex, the second of its kind in the city.

Located in front of the badminton stadium, in the Shri Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, this full fledged surface will be inaugurated on Tuesday.

The completion of the work has got cheer amongst the Krida Prabodhini players who waited for this international standard ground for four years. “This ground was something that made me shift from Aurangabad to Pune. It would give our team good exposure as it suits international standards,” said Franklyn Fernandes of Krida Prabodhani.

The ground brings tall promises from the sports authorities as they have a whole set program lined up for the coming years. “The infrastructure will surely help the budding hockey players from Pune and other cities from the state,” said Laxmikant Deshmukh, director of sports. “With the help of Sports Authority of India we have planned to conduct coaching camps and we have also planned to host some national and international events,” Deshmukh added.

The ground however lacks basic facilities like audience stand, adequate water supply through pipelines and players changing room. “The wrestling venue is just few meters from the ground and hence we have decided to make use of the wrestling venues changing room for the time being,” Deshmukh informed.

The brand new ground faces a severe threat from the surrounding area which is layered with debris and can damage the turf even with mild wind blowing. The water spewed on the ground come from a water tanker as the already installed water tank capacity is not adequate to serve the entire ground. “We are facing an acute water shortage and a bigger capacity tank needs to be installed. We will continue using the water tankers for ground as we have one year contract,” Deshmukh explained.

The total surface area of the ground is 101.4 x 65 meters whereas the playing area is 91.40 x 55 meters. The turf installation was done by Sports Technology International, Australia and the turf brand name is Polygras.