Aadhav Arjuna inspects infrastructure upgrades at Coimbatore’s Nehru stadium

Coimbatore: Minister for public works, highways and sports development Aadhav Arjuna inspected several sports facilities at the Nehru Stadium here in the city on Sunday.Following the inspection, he stated that the upgraded stadium can accommodate 32,000 spectators simultaneously, and features a synthetic track, a football ground, a gymnastics arena, and an air-conditioned gymnasium to help athletes hone their skills.He also announced that new training programmes for fencing (5 students) and road biking (5 students) are being introduced at the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) sports hostel in the district. He added that the total strength of the residential student-athletes at the hostel has been increased from 60 to 75.He also inspected the new, state-of-the-art sports hostel building which is currently under construction near the semi-indoor basketball court at an estimated cost of Rs 7.95 crore. This modern facility will include a study room, a gymnasium, a recreation room and a visitor’s lounge. The minister strictly instructed officials to ensure that the construction is of high quality and completed within the stipulated timeline.Aadhav Arjuna also interacted with athletes training in various disciplines and enquired about their requirements. He also extended his best wishes for them to achieve major milestones and become sporting champions.Govt secretary of youth welfare and sports development Sajjan Singh R Chavan; member secretary, SDAT, J Meghanatha Reddy; Coimbatore district collector Pavan Kumar G Giriyappanavar; and Coimbatore corporation commissioner M Sivaguru Prabhakaran were present during the inspection.