[ Chukhu Indu ]
MIAO, 23 Aug: The State Sports Academy (SSA) here in Changlang district is facing a crisis of infrastructure as the school is still located in a temporary setup in the defunct SAI campus here.
The school was established in June 2019, and it was only in 2021 that the approval for the permanent site in Namphai 1 – 10 kilometres away from Miao – was given, informed Sports Deputy Director M Linggi.
When contacted, SSA Principal P Mukherjee informed that, “out of the four major disciplines, only badminton players from the school could not represent the state at the national level till date due to unavailability of a badminton court in the school premises.”
She said that, out of the two badminton courts, one is in a totally deplorable condition and the other is partially dilapidated. “It was an arduous task for the students to practice for the Dorjee Khandu Badminton Tournament which is currently going on in Itanagar,” she said.
Out of the six students listed from the SSA for the trials for the tournament, the Changlang Badminton Association selected four.
Mukherjee informed that “students opting for archery have participated consecutively in the national level for three times, and one time for table tennis.”
She also highlighted the limited space for practice in all the disciplines.
Currently, the SSA provides training to 20 students (from Class 7 to 10) each in four disciplines.
The principal also complained about the issues of poor electricity supply and shortage of water in the school.
A parent of a student informed this daily that there are no regular coaches in the school. The principal, however, denied it and said that “all the coaches of the five disciplines, including yoga, are there,” adding that only the badminton coaches have been changed twice and the judo and table tennis coaches have been changed once.”
“Dronacharya awardee Purnima Mahato from Jharkhand, a national coach, comes to the school as a mentor for archery students,” Mukherjee added.
