Medak stadium lies neglected despite ₹5.5 crore upgrade
MEDAK: Once buzzing with more than 80 athletes, the Medak Outdoor Stadium—home to athletics and boxing academies now stands abandoned without basic amenities.
The stadium was built in 2000 during the tenure of then united Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, with efforts from local minister Karanam Ramachandra Rao. Initially, the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP) ran the boxing academy while the Sports Authority of India (SAI) managed the athletics academy.
In 2003–04, the boxing academy was shifted to Hyderabad, but the athletics academy continued under SAI until 2018. That year, SAI sanctioned ₹5.5 crore under the Khelo India scheme to lay a synthetic track. The academy was temporarily moved to Hyderabad during construction.
After the eight-lane synthetic track was completed in 2019, the Medak administration wrote to SAI seeking to restart the academy. SAI responded by asking for modernisation of hostels and facilities. Around ₹1.4 crore was spent in phases ₹70 lakh on building repairs and interiors, ₹18 lakh on fencing, ₹40 lakh on a football ground, and ₹15 lakh on sports equipment.
No response from SAI
Before the synthetic track was laid, 36 athletes trained here under a chief coach and seven SAI staff. But despite repeated appeals, SAI has not relocated the academy back to Medak.
In 2023, Ritu Pathak, regional director of SAI Bengaluru, visited the centre and noted that Medak had the necessary facilities for athletics and football academies. Yet, no progress followed. The Medak Football Association’s repeated representations to SAI also yielded no result.
Hub of anti-social activities
Today, apart from a lone watchman-cum-groundman, the stadium is deserted. Weeds cover the grounds, the synthetic track is cracked and swollen in places, and the 80-bed hostel remains unused.
Parents and athletes expressed concern that the stadium has become a hotspot for miscreants who gather at night to drink and engage in illegal activities.
Call for accountability
Critics have accused SAAP of neglecting its duty to bring back the academies shifted to Hyderabad. Athletes urged the state sports body to either coordinate with SAI or independently restart athletics, football, and boxing academies using existing facilities.
They also appealed for immediate appointment of coaches and support staff to restore the stadium’s former glory.
