Athletes told to empty Thyagraj stadium so that IAS officer can walk with dog

The Delhi government-run Thyagraj Stadium has become the talk of the town as strange incident has surfaced of late. The athletes and coaches at the Thyagraj aren have been complaining as they were allegedly told to sum up their training early, by 7 pm, so that Delhi's Principal Secretary (Revenue) Sanjeev Khirwar can walk his dog at the facility.

According to a report in the Indian Express, the sportspersons have to leave the ground at least an hour early so that Khirwar can take a walk along with his dog on the ground.

“We used to train till 8-8.30 pm under lights earlier. But now, we are asked to leave the ground by 7 pm so that the officer can walk his dog on the ground. Our training and practice routine has been disrupted,” a coach from the stadium said.

When contacted, Khirwar, a 1994-batch IAS officer, described the allegation as “absolutely incorrect”. He accepted that he “sometimes” takes his pet for a walk at the facility but denied that it disrupted the practice routine of athletes.

“I would never ask an athlete to leave the stadium that belongs to them. Even if I visit, I go after the stadium is supposed to close…We don’t leave him (the pet) on the track…when no one is around we leave him but never at the cost of any athlete. If it’s something objectionable, I will stop it,” Khirwar said. 

Built for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the centrally located sporting complex is a multi-discipline facility that attracts national and state athletes, and footballers.

But according to coaches and athletes, they have to train earlier in the heat since practice has to be wrapped up early. They said that earlier they trained will 8:30 pm or even till 9 for that matter but now they are left with no other option.

“Earlier, we continued training till 8.30 pm and sometimes even 9 pm but now we have no option. Earlier, I took water breaks once every half-hour. Now I need a drink every five minutes,” said a junior athlete.

Many of the athletes also said they have shifted their training to Sports Authority of India’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, just 3 km away, where floodlights are on after 7.30 pm.