Social activist and badminton enthusiast Kyrsoibor Pyrtuh feels that the state government should prioritise sports infrastructure in Meghalaya rather than thinking of taking foreign trips.
This past week a meeting was held between the visiting Chargé de Mission of the Consulate General of France in Kolkata, Samuel Bouchard, Sports and Youth Affairs Commissioner and Secretary Vijay Kumar D and Meghalaya State Olympic Association working president John F Kharshiing to explore stronger ties between France and Meghalaya. It was also briefly mentioned that a delegation of the MSOA and state government could visit France to carry this process forwards.
Instead of this, Pyrtuh said that the government should rebuild the Tirot Sing Indoor Stadium at Lachumiere, which was demolished a couple of years ago to make way for a planned administrative building, though this has yet to materialise. The stadium had been used primarily for badminton and table tennis, with an adjacent space for basketball.
Pyrtuh claimed that the dismantling of the indoor stadium has dissuaded many young badminton talents from pursuing their passion, while many regular players have become disinterested after losing the venue in the centre of the city.
Use of the site for a non-sport purpose also betrays the original gift of the land. According to Pyrtuh, it was given by the KELSA Club to the National Sports Club of Assam in 1954 (before Meghalaya became a separate state) for the specific purpose of building sports hostels and indoor sports facilities.
It was suggested when the indoor stadium came down that badminton activities would shift to Polo Ground but the JN Sports Complex there has been a construction site for several years now, with access to the indoor stadium there (which is also slated to be torn down for a new facility) physically difficult.
