Sponsors back Durga Puja over national athletics meet in Kolkata

West Bengal Athletic Association (WBAA) pulled out of hosting the 4th Indian Open U-23 Athletics Competition, scheduled to happen at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) eastern regional centre in Kolkata on September 28-30.

The competition, a key event for emerging young athletes, will now be held at the Patliputra Sports Complex in Patna on the same dates.

"Please note that the venue for the 4th Indian Open U-23 Athletics Competition 2024, which was to be conducted at the Sports Authority of India (Eastern Region), Salt Lake, Kolkata, has been changed," the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) stated in a circular recently.

Financial and logistical constraints

When asked about the reasons for their withdrawal, Kamal Kumar Maitra, Honorary Secretary of the West Bengal Athletics Association, cited financial constraints and logistical challenges.

"We faced some infrastructure problems and could not handle the current situation adequately. The main issue was at the administrative level. Teams expected to come for the event did not receive return tickets, and we found it difficult to meet AFI's requirements," Maitra told The Bridge.

He also underscored that the cost of hosting the event was beyond their limit. Moreover, their request to hold the event at Yuba Bharati Krirangan was denied due to scheduling conflicts with the Indian Super League.

"We have to host the guests and the players, and also have to buy instruments since SAI did not have all those facilities and equipement," he said.

"Had we got the nod for Yuba Bharati, hosting it would not have been a problem. We even asked AFI to reschedule the event to after Durga Puja, but that was not possible," Maita added.

'Sponsors find Durga Puja more attractive'

The timing of the event, just a week before Durga Puja, further complicated matters.

Maitra pointed out that many sponsors, already invested in the festive season, withdrew their support.

"Financially, we were struggling because our sponsors backed off, choosing to invest in Durga Puja instead. Major companies became sponsors for prominent pandals patronised by Arup Biswas (state sports minister) and Sujit Bose (a politician of the ruling TMC), showing little interest in sponsoring the athletics event," Maitra remarked.

"How would sports happen in Kolkata in such situation?" he asked.

WBAA also knocked on the doors of the state government for financial aid but did not receive any response.

"We had a budgetary requirement of Rs 70 lakh and had written a letter to the state government asking for financial help but did not receive any response," added Maitra.

WBAA, however, remained hopeful of hosting an event early next year.

"Since we have had to concede this event, we have requested AFI to grant us a junior event to host in March-April," Maitra concluded.