Vivek Phadnis. Bangalore

While athletes and coaches in the City were crying themselves hoarse because the synthetic track at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium was not given to them, athletes in the ancient town of Badami (Bagalkot district) have things even worse.

With floods ravaging the northern districts of the State, athletes in Badami have been left high and dry. The flood waters have eaten away the mud track at the Veera Pulakeshi Stadium in Badami and it is all rock-strewn now. Remarkably, athletes from Bagalkot district had won almost a dozen medals until Wednesday afternoon.

"About 200 metres of the mud athletics track has been washed away and rocks from the surface below are now on top. If we use track spikes and try to run, we are sure to slip and fall," said the athletes. "That is why we trained on the town roads for the State Junior Athletics."

A lucky few in the flood affected districts have been lucky. In places like Raichur, it is the villages in the district that have been hit, so athletes who train in the town have not been affected. However, athletes' preparations in Gadag have taken a hit due to flooding.

LA Yalagannavar, a former cross country runner and marathoner, is the secretary of Bagalkot District Association. He said: "The original plan was to have this meet in Bagalkot. But with the surrounding areas all flooded it does not look good to conduct a sports event when people are suffering. Plus, manpower may have been a problem.

But the fact is that the Badami stadium is damaged. We can only hope it is set right soon."

Yalagannavar added that work on improvement of the stadium was progressing at a very slow pace.

The districts of north Karnataka are known to produce tough athletes but the sad part is that the facilities they have are modest at best. They are renowned for not getting disheartened easily. A source of inspiration, indeed.