Mangaluru : The five-day Federation Cup National Senior Athletics Championship ended here on Monday. It evoked a contrasting response from athletes and spectators.

While the athletes and coaches praised the organisers for the facilities during the championship, there was poor response from the spectators who turned up in few numbers for the event.

The event is the first national event at Mangala Stadium after the Open National Athletics Meet way back in 1987. The Federation Cup is also the first national event to be held at the stadium since a synthetic track was laid.

Femina Miss India 2015 runner-up Aafreen Rachel Vaz, Health and Family Welfare Minister U T Khader, MLA J R Lobo, Athletics Federation of India (AFI) President Adille J Sumariwalla, President of Karnataka Amateur Athletics Association G. Parameshwara, Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs Abhaychandra Jain, Deputy Commissioner A B Ibrahim and other dignitaries ended in a colourful ceremony on Monday evening.

“It was a great risk we took in holding the championship here, as it lacked some basic facilities. But I am happy with the positive response (from athletes),” said G. Parameshwar, president of the Karnataka State Amateur Athletics Association.

“The event has led to the improvement of facilities and infrastructure here. It will pave the way for more national events here,” he said.

Mr. Parameshwar also commended the work of the Minister of State for Youth Empowerment and Sports K. Abhayachandra Jain for his active participation in making the national championship successful.

Secretary of the Athletics Federation of India C.K. Valson said that many more national events will be held in places such as Mangaluru, to encourage young and talented youth to take up athletics.

Expressing his satisfaction with the track and other facilities, Mr. Valson said that the facilities would gradually improve when more events are held.

“The next time when we come here, we will be insisting on video walls and other facilities that are absent this time,” he said.

Good facilities

Maharashtra athletics coach Nilesh Pathak commended the organisers for providing good food, accommodation and medical treatment facilities to the athletes. Mr. Pathak said though the warm-up track was slippery, it did not cause any problems.

“I appreciate the work that has gone into maintaining the warm-up track. It is in great shape despite the heavy rain for a few days preceding the inauguration,” he said.