File picture of a portion of the Joybhadra Hagjer Complex

Guwahati, Feb. 6: Just when the infrastructure developers thought they had overcome all the odds at the Tepesia Sports Complex, the rain gods had the last say. The organisers of the 33rd National Games have now been compelled to shift the venue for kabaddi from the Joybhadra Hagjer Complex to an indoor stadium on the IIT campus in north Guwahati.

A final decision, however, is yet to be arrived at. Organising committee member-secretary-I V.S. Bhaskar told The Telegraph that the discipline would have to be shifted to the indoor hall, keeping in view the inclement weather and the damage caused to the ground by intermittent rain over the last three days.

Echoing him, All Assam Kabaddi Association working president Abedur Rahman said the move was necessitated by unpredictable weather conditions.

Association secretary P.D. Sarma said the competition director of the discipline, Girish Bharagav, had disapproved of the ground condition. He had complained that the field was too muddy with insufficient grass. “Though the discipline will be played on a synthetic surface, the ground has been damaged beyond repair. It is not possible to lay the surface with so little time in hand. So, shifting it to an indoor venue has become inevitable,” Sarma said.

Kabaddi was scheduled to be held from February 10 to 14, followed by kho-kho, at the Joybhadra Hagjer Complex.

Sarma said the kabaddi federation had moved the National Games Secretariat for shifting the venue indoors as early as in September last year, during the first Games Technical Conduct Committee meeting. The plea was, however, not entertained.

On the other hand, kho-kho might have to be called off if the weather does not improve.

Assam Kho-kho Association president Rajib Prakash Baruah has requested the administrator of the Tepesia complex to cover the ground to prevent further drenching and keep the greens suitable for kho-kho to be held from February 14 to 17.

“We cannot afford to move indoors because we need a bigger space for the sport. So, it is better to prevent further drenching of the ground,” Baruah said.

Poor growth of grass on the ground and the red soil have compounded the woes.