National Open Athletics Championships 2024: Old Equipment, Sand on 'Outdated' Track, Athletes Unhappy with Kanteerava Stadium's Infrastructure

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The National Open Athletics Championships 2024 came to an end at Bengaluru's Kanteerava Stadium on September 2 as Vithya Ramraj broke PT Usha's long-standing meet record in the 400m hurdles on the closing day. However, in terms of quality, the 63rd edition of the season-ending tournament fell short in several areas.

It turns out, that the host, Karnataka Athletics Association, has failed to grasp the importance of a premium domestic tournament such as the National Open, which is among the three multi-day tournaments that the Athletics Federation of India holds in a calendar year (the other two events being Federation Cup and Inter-State Championships).

From putting in outdated equipment to using a worn-out track, whose break and lane lines were often easy to miss, Karnataka Athletics thought they could give a shabby treatment to a tournament such as the National Open while Athletics Federation of India is striving to bring world-class tournaments such as Continental Tour to the country.

Many of the elite athletes, including national record holders and Olympic participants, were far from impressed, including former 100m national record holder Amiya Mallick, who was disqualified from his 100m heat on the opening day because of equipment malfunction.

"I think some state federations need to start taking these domestic tournaments more seriously and consider the quality of their infrastructure before deciding to host one," Amiya told myKhel after winning the 4x100m relay. "They are using outdated starting blocks (a device used by sprint athletes to brace their feet against at the start of a race).

"If you have watched the Olympics, the blocks used have broader pads to brace your feet and have been around before the Tokyo Olympics but here we had the old ones, which have shorter foot space and that's why they were replaced. What made it worse was mine was shaky as probably a bolt came loose."

Unusual number of false starts and a ludicrous quick-fix

Amiya Mallick wasn't the only one who had trouble at the event as many sprint and hurdle events experienced false starts. In some cases, multiple false starts occurred in a single race, including the men's 100m hurdles final, leading to unnecessary delays in a tournament that was being broadcast Live on AFI's official YouTube channel.

Technical officials at the venue addressed multiple athletes' protests about equipment malfunctions. This led to at least three instances when athletes were observed running solo races after making successful appeals, leaving many of the viewers confused.

However, nothing bewildered viewers more than volunteers holding starting blocks with their feet while sprinters took to the starting line before the races. On being asked by the website, an unnamed AFI technical official explained that it was a quick-fix measure they took as the faulty starting blocks were all they had at the venue.

Volunteers were used as mere support to keep the blocks steady. While the quick-fix or 'jugaad' seems effective, it was ludicrous for an event viewed by fans Live. To most of the experts, it not only downgraded the value of the event but may jeopardise the validity of broken records if reviewed by World Athletics.

Questions raised about athletes' safety from injuries

Hurdlers were displeased with the hurdles used at the Kanteerava Stadium as the 110m national record holder Tejas Sirse pointed out that the venue is using old wooden hurdles while many venues in India already use fibre hurdles, which are lighter and less injury-prone.

"Not too happy with the hurdles used, they are using the old ones, both Siddhant (Thingalaya, former national record holder) and I hit hurdles early on and the contact with wooden hurdles is heavier and disrupted rhythm," said Shirse, who lost to surprise winner Manav R. "But I won't use that as an excuse for the loss because it was same for all of us but seeing old hurdles was a disappointment, especially when you see the infrastructure in other competition."

However, the mismanagement of the local organiser wasn't just limited to faulty and old equipment as many athletes and coaches pointed out that the 'outdated track' had sand on it, making it further undesirable for a good contest. The sands on track, understandably came on the track when they were used on soggy patches on the field, especially for the shot put sectors, which were all wet after overnight rain.

"While the track itself is outdated and in dire need of replacement, this time we had to deal with sands too," said a coach on condition of anonymity. "One can see it in the videos too that lines were almost non-existent in some areas, having sand on the track made them cautious of slipping. This is not the standard of track one wants if you want to see a good competition."

At least two runners slipped and injured themselves during the event. While myKhel can't confirm if the sand on the track caused these incidents, although track events often see such mishaps, an AFI official said that one of the injured runners suffered a fracture.

Among the incidents, Nithya Ramraj, who won the 100m hurdles with a personal best of 13.04 seconds, had a terrible fall right after crossing the finish line, leading to abrasions on her shoulders and knees. Nithya was soon attended by a rushing Manav R, who was talking to myKhel after winning the men's event. Many were left wondering why the medical staff didn't respond with the same urgency. In the photo shared below, sand could be spotted all over the track in the area of Nithya's fall.

Something that also caught everyone's attention during the shot put event was that the extreme left of the valid sectors stretched into stands. As it turned out, the put often ended up hitting the barriers before the stand while one of the gates was kept open to accommodate the final stretch of the sector, making the arrangement seem laughable for some while many questioned the safety of the few present in the stand.

Apart from the major concerns, several were not pleased with the hygiene of the washrooms, including the one in the VIP gallery, which had a shared toilet for both men and women.

Is situation this grim at other venues too?

While the quality of venues for athletics is often a concern, It would be wrong to say that the arrangements are ill-equipped at all the venues. Bhubaneswar's Kalinga Stadium, Ahmedabad's IIT Gandhinagar, and Goa's Bambolim (both during the National Games) have set a high standard with quality facilities for athletics. Bhubaneswar, in fact, has recently constructed a dedicated indoor athletics stadium with a Mondotrack (considered the technologically advanced and fastest track).

Earlier, CWG silver medallist Abdullah Aboobacker told myKhel Malayalam that lack of exposure to a Mondotrack was his shortcoming at the Paris Olympics. Read More.

Coming back to Bangalore's Kanteerava, the website reached out to Karnataka athletics officials for a quote on the shoddy arrangements but none were willing to speak on record while one said they did the best with the budget they have.

However, that barely makes the cut as an excuse and Bengaluru has more convincing to do if they wish to host an event in the future. Kanteerava Stadium, in fact, has been notorious for its arrangements in the past, including the football's SAFF Championships last year.