Gurgaon: While Haryana athletes are the toast of the nation for playing a big role in India’s medal haul at the recently concluded Asian Games in Japan, each one of them has had to fight their way through hardships and obstacles. Life is known to throw curveballs, but athletes practising at Tau Devi Lal Stadium had not seen this one coming.




For four days, state-level athletes lost access to the athletics track and regular training facility at the stadium because chief minister Nayab Singh Saini ’s official chopper was parked in the middle of the ground. The athletes had their tracks back on Wednesday after chopper took the CM, who returned from his three-day Singapore tour , back to Chandigarh.




This wasn’t the first time that practice schedules have run into a chopper-sized hurdle at this facility. Athletes said the chopper stands parked at the stadium for a day or two nearly every month. Chopper landings at the stadium are not a recent phenomenon. In March 2020, the stadium’s cricket arena was vacated in the middle of a training session because then CM Manohar Lal Khattar’s helicopter was to land. At the time, the stadium management had said they had written to the administration seeking arrangements for a separate helipad.




While use of facilities like the basketball and volleyball courts is not a problem after the chopper takes its anointed spot, the inner synthetic ground and the running track are closed off as part of the security protocol, so no one can go inside. Athletes said this directly affects their regular training.




“For athletes training continuously for competitions, even losing one or two days of practice is a significant loss,” said a player who trains at the stadium, speaking on the condition of anonymity.




Photos of the red-and-white Airbus H145 D3 helicopter, parked next to the athletics track, hit social media on Wednesday, drawing comments on “VIP culture”. A post by a player on X said hundreds of state-level athletes train at the stadium every day and that for many of them it is the only available track. The post questioned why athletes’ training and ambitions should be compromised for VIP convenience.




A parent shared with TOI that children travelled from different parts of the city for training, and it was frustrating to reach the stadium only to be told that the track was closed. A sports coach, who did not wish to be named, said a separate location should be identified for parking helicopters so that athletes did not have to stop their training. Several open spaces in the city could be explored for an alternative arrangement, the coach said. “The stadium is meant for athletes’ training and sporting activities. While the chief minister’s security is important, players should not repeatedly be kept away from the ground because a helicopter needs to be parked,” the coach said.




Officials told TOI hat the helicopter was parked at the stadium, a govt sports facility under GMDA, because parking it in Delhi would entail charges. The CM often uses the chopper for his visits to the city. If he has to take a flight, he is driven to IGI Airport from the stadium. Proximity to the mini secretariat and PWD guesthouse also makes the stadium a convenient choice.




Gurgaon has no helipad under the state govt or the civil aviation ministry, though private landing facilities are available. In 2022, Haryana govt handed over 25 acres in Global City, abutting Central Peripheral Road, to the Centre for an integrated heli hub. It was envisioned as the first of its kind in the country, with a heliport, hangars, repair facilities and other related services. Construction has not started, but HSIIDC has begun the process of transferring land for the project. As a result, the stadium remains the most feasible place to land a chopper.




The CM’s media adviser Rajeev Jaitly told TOI the helicopter was parked at the stadium because of a snag, and not as a standby measure. “It was there for four days because of a machinery glitch that prevented it from taking off. Normally, whenever the helicopter is parked there, it takes off within half an hour. It does not remain there for days,” he said.




Saini’s Oct 4-6 Singapore visit attracted investment proposals worth nearly Rs 5,500 crore across healthcare, water infrastructure, education and skill development, with the state govt projecting these as a boost for jobs, urban services and industrial growth.