Lone government pool in a shambles, swimmers in city forced to practise outside Gurgaon

GURGAON: The city's competitive swimmers are being forced to travel outside Gurgaon for practice at their own cost, in the absence of proper infrastructure here. There is only one public swimming pool in the city and it isn't even temperature-controlled.
The sports department has been planning a heated swimming pool in Gurgaon since 2015, and has also estimated the cost of the project. However, the plan has not moved forward during the past two years. Meanwhile, the project plan keeps changing with every bureaucratic reshuffle.

All the while, the condition of the only public swimming pool run by the sports department, at Kamla Nehru Park, has deteriorated, forcing swimmers to seek practice in private academies. District swimming coach Ravinder Kumar said, "The condition of this swimming pool is very poor. It's almost 35 years old and the facilities are inadequate. I've been the coach at this pool for the past three years, and there has been no renovation during this period."


Thirteen-year-old swimmer Sagar Rana, who studies in Class 8, has been travelling to Bahadurgarh by train for past five years to practise. The youngster has represented Haryana at the nationals. He said, "I can't practise in the city in winter as the pool water is freezing. So, I pay Rs 12,000 per month to access the heated pool at Bahadurgarh. It's quite expensive."

In August 2016, Rana suffered a shoulder injury at the district swimming championships. The doctor advised him not to swim again. But Rana refused to follow his advice. A passion for swimming got him back to the pool. He said the 60km commute to Bahadurgarh in the morning and back to Gurgaon in the evening is an ordeal.

Another city swimmer, Jasmine Gurung, practises in a heated swimming pool in Delhi's Talkatora stadium. The 17-year-old girl's goal is to win an Olympic medal. Jasmine has so far won six medals at the nationals. At the 2017 South Asian Games in Australia, she created a record of 2 minutes, 11 seconds and 78 micro seconds in the 200 metre freestyle event. Jasmine said, "There is no facility for swimmers available in Gurgaon. There is no standard, heated pool here. In such a situation, after learning the basics of swimming, contestants have to move to other states."

Sixteen-year-old Khushi Jain has been participating in international school-level swimming events for the past five years.

She said, "I always make it a point to go for practice. I train regularly at Delhi's Talkatora stadium. It has a heated pool where I can practise in the morning and the evening, but the biggest problem is the commute. There is a lot of traffic between Gurgaon and Delhi, so I have to spend 5-6 hours daily on the road."

Swimmer Shivani Kataria (20) is Haryana's youngest representative at Olympics. She was selected as India's wildcard entry to Rio Olympics when she was 18. Shivani's goal is to win a medal for the country in next Olympics. She is improving her performance and ranking every year, by participating in more national and international competitions. But for her, too, the biggest obstacle is lack of facilities in city. Shivani said, "If the city gets a heated, international sized pool, many swimmers from here can aim and reach international level."

The authorities said they are working to improve resources for swimmers in the city. "We'll try to provide better resources to swimmers, so talented sportspersons don't have to go elsewhere to train," said Paras Ram, district sports officer.