games VENUE RACE
Guwahati, July 16: Jorhat is banking on its history and infrastructure to win the race for the second venue of the 2005 National Games after the Assam capital.
Dibrugarh, Nagaon, Kokrajhar and Silchar are the other towns in the race.
Like the other contenders, Jorhat is also swearing by its intrinsic strengths — delightful atmosphere, location, connectivity by air, road and train and hospitality — and its glorious past. Being the hometown of chief minister and Assam Olympic Association (AOA) president Tarun Gogoi is incidental.
“It is the Assam Olympic Association and the state government’s prerogative to name the venues. But to say that Jorhat is in the race because of Gogoi is grossly unfair on both the chief minister and the town. Only those unaware of Jorhat’s sporting heritage, environment, infrastructure and hospitality would say such a thing,” Tapan Dutta, member of the board of sports, said.
The All-Assam Tennis Association secretary, Raktim Saikia, said: “Jorhat may not have lived up to expectations but you cannot ignore its history. It still remains a leading sporting centre of the Northeast.”
The first well-planned stadium in the stadium came up in Jorhat in 1953. It hosted the region’s first overseas cricket team in 1953 and the West Indies came in 1959. The town hosted the national rural sports meet ahead of Guwahati and Nagaon in 1976, while the state’s first international tennis meet was held at the Jorhat Tennis Club courts in 2000. Even the first Ranji Trophy match in Assam was held at Jorhat stadium in 1949-50.
The continuation of the century-old Jorhat races at the Gymkhana Club, which also boasts of a golf course, and the ATPA Shield football tournament bolster Jorhat’s sporting heritage.
An official in the Jorhat District Sports Association (JDSA) said the main stadium, connected from eight directions with parking space for over 400 vehicles in the adjoining Kachari Maidan, is being upgraded under a Rs 2.36-crore project.
The indoor stadium is the biggest in the state at present, while a swimming pool is under construction.
The official said the town is equipped to host football, badminton, table tennis, tennis, equestrian and contact games.
