| When it comes to sports, Haryana is a powerhouse that immediately comes to mind. Whether it is wrestling, boxing, or athletics, Haryana has consistently produced world-class champions, dominating both national and international arenas. Interestingly, while the state is India’s foremost medal cradle, the grassroots management of these sports often relies more on sheer passion and community effort than state-of-the-art infrastructure.
NNIS Sports travelled to Kurukshetra, the historic land of the Mahabharata, to cover the 16th Haryana State Senior Athletics Championships at Guru Dronacharya Stadium. The two-day event carried immense weight; participation was mandatory for athletes aiming for the Interstate Championships 2026, which serve as the final selection trials for the upcoming Asian Games.
The championship provided a realistic look at the operational challenges faced by state sports bodies. When we met Rajkumar Mithhan, Secretary of the Haryana Athletics Association, he acknowledged our presence with a knowing smile: “Nahi, badhiya hai. Aap apna kaam kar rahe ho, hum apna.” (No, it’s good. You are doing your job, we are doing ours.) Mithhan, a former athlete himself, was referring to NNIS Sports’ track record of highlighting areas of improvement in the state’s athletic ecosystem. “Bhai, story sab kar dete hain. Kabhi aao dekho hum kaise karwate hain,” (Everyone does a story. Come sometime and see how we manage to pull it off), he added jocularly.
As the event unfolded, his words began to make sense. Managing a state-level championship with limited resources is a masterclass in improvisation. For perspective, Haryana is the home state of Neeraj Chopra, India’s first-ever Olympic track and field champion. Inside the stadium, a massive poster of Chopra holding his javelin serves as a beacon of inspiration. However, the day-to-day execution of the sport requires modern technical support.
For instance, during the men’s 200m final, in the absence of electronic photo-finish technology, officials had to manually record the finish on their mobile phones. Seven to eight technical experts gathered around the screens to meticulously review the footage before declaring the state’s fastest man.
“We face a distinct crunch when it comes to technical funding,” Mithhan explained candidly. “Deploying a full electronic technical team with international-standard equipment requires a budget of ₹2.5 lakh to ₹3 lakh per event. Without dedicated grants for these specific logistics, we have to rely on manual, yet careful, methods.”
Resource optimization was visible across other disciplines, too. Due to a limited number of standard hurdles on-site, athletes competing in the 100m, 110m, and 400m hurdles ran in smaller, staggered pairs, with final rankings calculated by precisely comparing timings across all heats. In the field events, the long jump pit required manual monitoring without advanced plasticine foul indicators, and logistical constraints meant that decathletes, after completing nine events at Kurukshetra, travelled to nearby Karnal Stadium (around 40 km away) to safely complete the pole vault event.
Mithhan clarified that the issue isn’t a lack of intent or basic infrastructure, but rather the availability of highly specialized equipment.
“In Haryana, the government has done an excellent job of laying down multiple synthetic tracks. The infrastructure is there. However, there is a logistical gap in specialized equipment like pole vault landing cushions, high jump mats, and steeplechase barriers at every single venue. We brought hurdles from Karnal Stadium for this event, but heavy pole vault cushions cannot be easily transported. Hence, the circular proactively advised athletes to utilize the Karnal facility,” Mithhan explained.
Despite these logistical hurdles, Haryana’s athletes continue to dominate, regularly topping the medal charts at the Federation Cup and Interstate Championships. When asked what drives this unstoppable conveyor belt of champions, Mithhan credited the ecosystem.
“Sports is in Haryana’s DNA. The credit goes entirely to the dedication of the athletes, the grit of their coaches, and the support of their parents. While we appreciate the synthetic tracks provided by the state, we hope to collaborate closely with the sports department to ensure mandatory specialized equipment is permanently stationed at these venues. If we can produce champions now, imagine what they will achieve with top-tier equipment.”
To sustain this momentum, sports administrators emphasize the need for a more streamlined channel of communication with state authorities. Mithhan noted that administrative transitions often slow down the approval of financial assistance and grants for sports associations. According to him, the association operates largely through self-funding and personal contributions from its members to ensure that athletes do not miss out on vital competitive exposure.
“Since taking over as secretary in 2019, we have had to manage things largely independently, often contributing from our own pockets to ensure the events take place smoothly,” he shared, mentioning how members frequently transport personal equipment to venues in their own vehicles.
When asked what keeps them going despite the administrative uphill climb, Mithhan’s face lit up.
“Almost 99 percent of our association members are former athletes. I competed at the state level for nearly a decade. We know the hardships. We simply do not want the current generation to face the roadblocks we faced. The passion for the sport binds us together. Even if resources are tight, our team will always show up for the athletes, because athletics is in our blood.”
As the sun set over the Guru Dronacharya Stadium, the championship concluded successfully. The passion of Haryana’s sports community remains undisputed but for the state to retain its crown as India’s sporting superpower, a synchronized effort between passionate ground officials and structural government support will be the ultimate winning formula. |
