Beyond the finish line

At first glance, you see medals on the wall, trophies in the cabinet, and a Gymkhana complex that rivals most university campuses in India. But beneath all the glory is a more complex reality, one shaped by systemic lapses, limited transparency in processes, and an infrastructure that falls short of adequately supporting the athletes on campus.

Infrastructural issues are only the surface; beneath lie deeper systemic problems of accountability and communication. From budget approvals and ground maintenance to post-fest cleanups and scheduling practices, nearly every aspect is divided across multiple stakeholders. And when everyone is responsible, no one truly is.

IIT Bombay faces different weather patterns as compared to other IITs, where the monsoon extends for a longer time, and high humidity demands targeted infrastructure, like ventilation in indoor spaces. However, the sports facilities in the institute convey a concern of poor planning, as it does not accommodate the weather conditions of Mumbai or the needs of its current population of over 13,000 students. The following issues highlight the gaps created due to poor planning.

Overlapping Usage of Spaces

The institute population has seen a large growth over the years. However, the area dedicated to sports facilities has not increased in a proportionate manner. Lack of dedicated spaces has resulted in more than one sport practising in the same area. This has led to year-round compromises amongst the sports community.

The kabaddi team, for instance, currently practices on the basketball court. They have set up their mats in the runoff areas outside the playing lines due to the absence of a designated space.

Another issue that highlights this problem is the common ground shared between the athletics and cricket grounds, where the running track and throwing fields fall inside the cricket boundary. This not only affects the practices of both sports but also creates a risk of serious injuries. The GSSA acknowledged the overlaps and shared that any long-term solution would require spatial reallocation or additional facilities, both of which are being explored.

“The only other space we have to relocate the cricket field is the space behind Hostel 17. Since this is currently occupied due to construction, it would take substantial time to make this change.”

This development would solve the problem of shrunken and coincident boundaries. However, Insight believes that considering the conventional ground layout, the football field (and not the cricket field) should lie in between the 400m athletics track which fits dimensionally. For example, major IITs and universities harbouring a similar ecosystem have followed this convention.

Moving forward, the athletics team also raised concerns over the lack of facilities for field events like pole vault and hammer throw. Due to the current layout of the grounds, it’s challenging to add infrastructure like a throwing cage or pole vault, which prevents athletes from participating in such events. This dual use of space makes both the cricket team and the athletics team compromise in their practices. Although there is a shortage of space, alternatives for either of the grounds can always exist. Shifting one game to another space will ensure smooth practices and execution of various tournaments for both sports.

Monsoon Disruptions

The onset of Mumbai’s monsoon transforms the indoor courts from an active sports arena into a patchwork of makeshift solutions. The courts present in Arena 95 (opposite Hostel 3) have severe roof leakage, with rainwater entering the court and disrupting regular practice sessions. Players of these sports have reported that it has been a recurring issue, which has worsened significantly. The current basketball secretary shared:

“During the first rains, we try to identify the exact spots where the leakage is happening and report them. The Estate Office then sends someone to apply a waterproofing paste over those areas as a temporary fix, but it’s not always effective.”

This year, however, the situation has further deteriorated. The Estate Office has refused even the temporary waterproofing paste, stating that there is no viable solution for the leakage.

These puddles not only render the courts unusable but also put players at serious risk of injury, a concern that becomes especially critical during the months leading up to Inter-IIT. There have been incidents of players slipping during play and in a few cases it has caused major injuries like ACL(Anterior Cruciate Ligament) tears.

In 2023, a drainage system was introduced to channel rainwater from the roof to the sides of the court, with the aim of keeping the playing surface safe and usable. However, the measure proved only partially effective, as the roof lacked complete coverage, unlike in 2022. Although water channels were installed to divert runoff, they failed to prevent seepage onto the courts. While plans exist to redesign the drainage system, the current approach is yet to provide a sustainable solution.

Interestingly, the badminton courts, which have a similar roof design, have not yet experienced leakages, perhaps because they were only constructed in 2023. This raises important questions: if the problems with Arena 95’s roof were already known, why was the same design carried forward for the new facility? More broadly, is the current roof structure itself appropriate for Mumbai’s climate, or should alternative designs, such as a flatter roof with fewer joints and better drainage, have been considered to ensure long-term usability and safety?

With just under 100 days to go for the Inter IIT Sports Meet 2025, players are gearing up to put forward their best performances. However, as is the case every year, the gymkhana grounds are closed for almost 4 months (June – September). As a result, outdoor practices shift indoors, but given limited indoor infrastructure, various sports have to accommodate their practice schedules in the narrow evening window when students are free.

The hockey, athletics, cricket and ultimate frisbee teams have planned to share the indoor cricket nets for practice during this time. Four teams are trying to split two slots, which means each team barely gets a couple of sessions a week. The lack of adequate indoor facilities for sports like hockey and tennis, to name a few, turns scheduling into a matter of trade-offs. This means that each team gets only a fraction of the time they would otherwise.

A football player shared,
“We do have a turf to play on during the monsoon, but since there’s no covering, we have to practice in the rain and a lot of players end up falling sick. On top of that, classes go on till 5:30 pm, so the only time we can play is in the evening, even if it’s raining.”

In comparison to other IITs, our players lose a significant chunk of their training period since monsoons in Mumbai last for a relatively longer period. This brings up a broader concern: whether there should be corresponding indoor facilities for each major sport. A former GSSA has proposed a solution that involves laying down artificial turf for hockey, allowing it to be used in all seasons. This would help solve issues for multiple sports, as a few sports can shift to the hockey turf, and the number of sports being accommodated in the indoor cricket courts will decrease.
The current GSSA mentioned that,

“The hockey turf project is an expensive one, and will be funded through alumni contributions. We have procured vendor documents and worked out estimated costs, so we have already done our part. Now we are waiting for funds to come through. If we do start work, it will be in December, after the Inter-IIT season is over.”

However, even if constructed, maintaining fine turf will require careful management. Activities like setting up stalls/stages or the movement of heavy trucks across the ground can cause serious damage. As the GSSA pointed out:

“Even after we got permission specifically barring trucks from entering the hockey ground, they still entered twice. This kind of misuse really makes things difficult for us.”

But building new infrastructure is only half the challenge, there is also a long-term commitment required for its maintenance.

Ground Maintenance Challenges

While the monsoon causes unavoidable disruption, there are some event-related interferences which are avoidable but still leave lasting effects. A notable incident occurred in March 2025 on the hockey ground, when a frisbee player was injured after stepping on a nail left behind from a dismantled stage used for Mood Indigo. Over 30 more nails were found embedded in the ground in the days that followed.

The stage in question had been removed after an event held in early March. This was the second time in the semester that such heavy equipment had been used on the grounds. Although a cleanup and maintenance period was scheduled during midsems, it clearly failed to restore the ground to playable condition.

According to the GSSA,
“Initially, after Mood Indigo (in December), four buckets of nails were collected. In March, after this incident, the ground was cleaned again, this time with a metal detector sweep, we found 30-40 nails. The issue was taken care of in about two weeks.”

While the response was eventually adequate, the incident revealed how grounds are misused, particularly shared with fests and large events.

After the monsoon season, as the soil is worn out and grass is unevenly grown, the levelling of the grass and soil takes place. This process is carried out by frequent watering, and rolling is done on the hockey field. There are a lot of crab holes that exist after the monsoon, and there have been multiple complaints by the athletics team and hockey players in the past that these holes were not filled properly, which led to serious injury concerns.

Viewed together, these examples illustrate how the quality of the gymkhana ground is affected by a combination of seasonal wear, event usage, and maintenance practices. Even with frequent upkeep, players and captains have noted that the surface does not always return to optimal condition, which is why proposals for more long-term solutions, such as resoiling the ground, have been raised in recent years.

Resoiling Concerns

Resoiling of the ground refers to the process of replacing topsoil with fresh new soil by turning the two layers of soil upside down and adding manure. This is done in order to improve the condition of the ground for a better grass field, as the old soil gets degraded.

When Insight had a conversation with some of the institute sports secretaries, they mentioned that resoiling is generally done when the need for the same is felt.

Resoiling of the gymkhana ground was done during the 2024 summer. However, the post effects raised concerns over the quality of soil being used and the process that was followed, as it led to significantly larger-sized stones coming up and unevenness on the ground surface. Several sports like Athletics, Hockey, Football, Cricket, and Frisbee are affected due to the poor ground quality.

In conversation with the Ex-athletics captains, they responded that,
“There are hard patches in between the ground as there is no grass grown; this unevenness makes the runners very difficult to catch up pace. More importantly, even if they pace up, this type of ground is very injury-prone.”

When asked about the reason for the poor ground condition, the GSSA replied that,
“We were planning to bring in soil from outside, but there was a sudden change and soil that had recently been dug for the new SAC was used, but the soil had big stones and rocks. Temporary solutions are to aerate the soil by tilling and compacting.”

Considering the ground is used by many stakeholders, including students, professors, staff, and inter-IIT teams, there is an urgent need for follow-up on the current ground situation. Resoiling is meant to improve playability, yet the effort has left the ground in a condition many athletes feel is worse than before. Without greater attention to soil quality and procedure, future efforts may only repeat the same mistakes, leaving problems unresolved.

When Insight asked the GSSA about this follow-up, he mentioned,
“The current practice of bringing new soil and adding it on top of the existing soil is not a good long-term fix. We had planned for resoiling to start after Aavhan, but it rained early, due to which we could not proceed.”

When asked if this process could be carried out at another time, he replied,
“The whole process would take approximately 3 weeks, and it won’t serve the purpose if we do it after the summer. All we can do then is only put loose soil.”

Decision-Making and Transparency

While proposals for major infrastructure projects, such as ground resoiling or court resurfacing, are often initiated in consultation with sports secretaries and the GSSA, the actual execution is largely coordinated between the Estate Office and SAC officers. Once the initial approvals and budgeting are complete, student representatives are often left out of key decisions during implementation. This lack of transparency has led to recurring concerns among sports teams about the quality and intent behind certain decisions.

A similar pattern was observed during the resurfacing of the indoor basketball court and the construction of the sandpit for the athletics team, where team members raised concerns about the quality of construction being subpar. In each case, the student stakeholders were either inadequately consulted or completely unaware of changes until after the work was completed.

Even when student representatives proactively initiate proposals for facility improvements, bureaucratic hurdles often delay or derail progress. The GSSA shared,

“When we put in our approvals through the Estate Office, they sometimes get lost. There’s a sign-in, sign-out system, and both sides have copies. But when we follow up, they claim we never submitted anything. While the administrative wing is generally supportive, the bottlenecks lie in the executive wing.“

Manpower Limitations

While the institute’s sports facilities continue to expand in use and expectations, the manpower behind their daily upkeep has dwindled. According to the GSSA, the number of ground staff has decreased from around 30-40 a few years ago to just 9-10 at present, placing significant strain on day-to-day operations. Staff for outdoor facilities typically work in two shifts, but during the monsoon they are merged into a single 9:00 am to 6:30 pm shift.

Since classes often run till 8:30 pm, most teams can only begin practice late in the evening. To accommodate this, the official gymkhana timings are extended till 10 pm during the Inter-IIT period. However, with fewer staff available to manage venues at night, players reported that facilities are sometimes shut earlier than scheduled. “We usually finish practice at around 9:30,” one player shared. “But even if someone stays back to stretch or change, the staff begins shutting off lights and locking doors.” Incidents like these are the result of limited manpower stretched thin across multiple venues.

An underlying issue here is that the institute’s quota for hiring permanent staff is already full. This means that no new full-time staff can be recruited. In such cases, it becomes the SAC-in-Charge’s role to push for either an expansion of the quota or hire additional contractual staff.

Acknowledging these challenges, the GSSA has requested 15 additional contractual workers starting from the first week of October. This measure, which will effectively double the current workforce, is intended to assign one worker per field for better attention. This will ease the load on the current staff and they won’t have to undertake long shifts.

The Role of SAC Leadership

The SAC-in-Charge is the person ultimately responsible for ensuring that student concerns are addressed and the gymkhana facilities are maintained. Leadership in this context is not only about coordinating budgets and signing off on approvals and permissions, it is about representing students honestly.

The aftermath of the 2024 resoiling incident revealed lapses in this responsibility. Intended to improve ground, the process failed, leaving the surface uneven and in many athletes’ view, more unfit for practice than before. Instead of pushing for corrective measures, the then SAC-in-Charge asked some team captains to sign a letter declaring the ground quality had improved.

Insight’s conversation with them revealed that they were uncomfortable signing the statement, as it did not reflect the reality of the ground conditions. A former athletics captain shared:

“We were told to sign a letter saying the ground was in great condition after resoiling, and greatly enhanced our practice sessions. I really did not want to sign it since the reality was different.”

The episode left students questioning the priorities of the SAC-in-Charge and the credibility of the system.

Conclusion

With constraints like class schedules running till 8:30 pm and delays in execution affecting the practice schedule of the players, students hardly find any time after classes to go and play on the fields. While weather conditions like monsoons are inevitable, precautionary and preventive measures are necessary for the maintenance of the grounds.

With proposals for a 400m synthetic track, a new indoor cricket pitch and an artificial football field moving forward soon, the institute’s sports infrastructure could have meaningful improvements. These projects were chosen for their feasibility and their ability to alleviate logistical challenges for students throughout the year. These new projects will not be the usual isolated fixes, but will serve as an opportunity to plan, maintain and communicate the missteps from the past. With the right implementation, we can hope to get a more reliable ecosystem, where players spend less time adapting to problems and more time practising to play their best game.