Give me wings and I bring you the sky !
(An article on the upcoming international cricket stadium at Ranchi , ODIs and future of sports in Jharkhand.)
From Olympia , Greece to JSCA stadium , Ranchi. Stadiums
have perennially been the intersection loci of sports , its performers and its
viewers. A place where performance , team-aspirations and sport- ambitions
reach their zenith , creating milestones for civilizations and the undomitable
sportsman within the man. Over the years , stadiums became the breeding grounds of sports and sportsmen by titillating, encouraging and inspiring the humanfolk to
dream , visualise and convert their sporting prowess to reality. Serving as
lighthouses , the stadiums led many weary sojourners to their destiny named
“SPORTS”.
Once again , A lighthouse has been erected , a breeding farm
has been set , a coin of inspiration has been tossed , A stadium named JSCA
stadium once conceived has been realized in the state of Jharkhand . Another
confluence of its sorts “where the global meets the local” . Jharkhand state
cricket association (JSCA)) stadium stands in its full might to render its
splendour to the audience of the world.
Prior to landing at Ranchi Airport , you will notice the
Chhota nagpur plateau offering an amusing bird’s eye view of marginal farms and
huge clusters of green patches reminding you that Jharkhand deserves to be
named the lungs of India for its greenery. As the vibrant roads lead you from
Airport to the stadium , you enjoy the green panorama of the city , where trees
seem to be playing “sun and shadow” with you. Nature unfolds both its arms at
the gateway called JSCA stadium to welcome the globe in its humble locality
called “Jharkhand”.
The awe is all yours and the humility belongs to the JSCA
Stadium when you make a tete-a-tete with the state of the art magnificence. The
JSCA Stadium promises to seat 40000 spectators to the grandeur of the
Cricketing phenomena. Its another feather in the cap of JSCA , which aims to
make Jharkhand , a crucible of excellence in cricket and to contribute
significantly to the sport of the cricket in the years to come.
JSCA International stadium complex includes additional
indoor cricket facility , tennis academy , club houses , gymnasiums etc. Built
over a period of two years and an investment of approximately 180 crores , it is a true merger of nature and
technology. The two turf hills , east
and west endow the cricket lovers to relish the passion from green , grassy
hills. There are two pavilions , north and south which include VVIP areas and
both have five viewing levels. The president box, member’s area , donor’s area
, BCCI box , dressing rooms , commentary boxes and dining spaces are also part
of these pavilions.
All this didn’t happen over night. It took some pain , some
dream and more of real hard work. The story of the stadium is incomplete
without mention of Mr. Amitabh Choudhary , President,JSCA , The visionary man upfront with the mission
of making Jharkhand self-reliant in terms of Cricket Infrastructure. This man
with the mission envisaged an independent cricketing avenue , realized it
within two years and with all his humility thanked all the hurdles on the way
for his success. On 17th Jan 2013 , JSCA aims to inaugurate the International experience for
the state of Jharkhand.
An apple and Newton led the world to new innovation
paradigms. But the rains at Melbourne cricket ground on 5th jan 1971
during the test match between Australia and England led to the invention of 1st
One day International , which makes India echo “Dil Maange more” in 2013. Since
then ODIs never looked back and adopted several new features , i.e. coloured
uniform , day-night matches, use of white balls, multiple camera angles, effect
microphones , dark sight screens , advent of power plays and field
restrictions. ODIs evolved to integrate the game and the audience. Thrill was
the quotient which ODIs invigorated.
The Indian ODI Maestros , to name a few have been , Sunil
Gavaskar , Kapil Dev , Ravi Shastri , K. Srikanth, J. Srinath, Anil Kumble , M.
Azharuddin , Navjot Sidhu, Saurav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh , V. Sehwag , M.S.
Dhoni and the legendary Sachin Ramesh
Tendulkar.
If cricket is the passion of India , then ODIs are its
brightest colours . India , ranked 3rd in latest ODI rankings has
twice been world champions of ODIs , respectively in 1983 and 2011.
ODIs today involve a regime of sports which looks for all
round fitness and natural athleticism in addition to skill and class. The pace
of the ball and numbers on the scoreboards have ever been rising to make the
form of game a conquest for the best. The concord of technology and sports has
led the standards of ODIs , performance , decision making and competition to
its history best. The evolution of the ODIs have led it to compete with itself
for perfection.
Jharkhand, The traditional hockey state slowly swung to the
mastery of Cricket and Archery. Jharkhand takes pride in nurturing and
strengthening the spirits of sportsmanship and sharpening it to world class
potential. Deepika kumari , the world champion Archer , Asunta Lakra , former
national women hockey team captain , M.S. Dhoni , the present Indian cricket
captain have been the latest flag bearers of India in the sporting arena of the
world. The small unknown cities, suburbs and even villages of Jharkhand have
been witness to production of world class sportspersons.
Where is Jharkhand heading next? Is India and the world poised for Jharkhand’s
contribution to sports ? Do you remember the next door boys from Jamshedpur ,
Saurav Tiwary and Varun Aaron who made
headlines by their impressive presence
in Indian cricket team. What it could have taken for Saurav and Varun to
be there!
All a sportsman needs is an icon to dream about , a spirit
which never yields, an access to world
class sporting facilities , a mentor or a coach to train the nuances of the
game and a facilitator who helps his each step of journey with care and
caution. Today , Jharkhand is blessed to have it all. So , its time when the
younger ones can dream , toil and be. The time is ripe when the harvest of
sportsmen is going to grow leaps and bounds in Jharkhand. The recently held national games , the yet to
be held ODI , the yet to be held IPL are going to energize several young minds.
For Jharkhand , this is the start , the journey begins here . History will be
created on 19th Jan 2013 when the world will gaze through the alleys
of Jharkhand , when the world will notice the sporting advancement of Jharkhand
and thenceforth history will be repeated.
Jharkhand will stand to the testimony
of success as an endless marathon , where each milestone would remind the need
for greater courage and commitment towards the unseen.
