National Games: Locals flock to Haldwani for swimming and football – heated pools, floodlit soccer, music, dance … ‘festive atmosphere’ | Sport-others News
The last time the stadium was packed to capacity was when the Great Khali, the WWE superstar, performed a few years ago, says a beaming Rashika Siddiqui, deputy director sports. Siddiqui, a senior official, is shuttling between the two busy venues in Golapar, the swimming complex and the cricket stadium that is hosting packed-to-the-rafters football matches. On Sunday night, home team Uttarakhand were trailing Bengal 0-2 in the dying minutes of the women’s game, but within the stadium so loud were the spectators that one had to shout to be heard. The football pitch is pristine green. Winter ryegrass brought in from Europe was planted three months ago when the cricket pitch made way for a full-sized football ground, Siddiqui said. The temporary switch from leather ball to football for the 38th National Games is a hit at Golapar’s Indira Gandhi Sports complex. Inaugurated in 2016, the arena, across the railway tracks and the Gola river on the outskirts of Haldwani, got a major makeover for the games. Story continues below this ad The C-shaped …
