Karnail Singh Stadium

Karnail Singh Stadium is a multipurpose sports venue located in Delhi, India and is owned by the Indian Railways.[1] Located next to the New Delhi Railway Station, the ground is used for athletics, football, hockey, cricket, boxing, and badminton.[1][2] Apart from sports, the ground has been a venue for the Terry Fox Run, a charity event which was held in 2008.[3]

Karnail Singh Stadium
Paharganj Railways Stadium
Ground information
LocationBasant Road, Railway Colony, Paharganj, New Delhi
Capacity5,000
International information
Only WODI12 December 1997:
 Sri Lanka v  West Indies
Team information
Railways cricket team
As of 9 December 2019
Source: Cricinfo

History

Originally known as Paharganj Railways Stadium,[4] the ground was built in 1954 due to the efforts of Karnail Singh, then Chairman of the Railway board. In 1978, the Railways Sports Promotion Board renamed the stadium as the Karnail Singh Stadium in his honour.[5]

Sporting activities

The ground was the venue for an Athletics open meet in 1964 where Paan Singh Tomar set a new national steeplechase record.[6][7] Karnail Singh Stadium hosted the National Weightlifting Championship in 2004.[8] In 2008, the 56th National Kabaddi Championship was held at the ground.[9] The ground hosts a boxing hall, which is used for training by boxers such as Akhil Kumar[2] and hosted the National Boxing Championship in 2007.[10] It was also used as a training venue prior to the Commonwealth Boxing Championship in 2010.[11]

The ground has been home to the Railways cricket team in the Ranji Trophy for approximately five decades.[12][13] Karnail Singh Stadium was the venue for the Ranji Trophy finals in 2002 when the Railways won the Ranji Trophy for the first time.[14] In 2007, the Railways proposed to build a new dedicated cricket stadium to replace Karnail Singh Stadium as its home ground, citing lack and overuse of facilities.[15] A unique feature of the ground is its old wooden green-board type scoreboard which is updated after each run is scored, unlike other manual ones which are updated in multiples of ten.[2] Though the stadium has not hosted international men's cricket, it was one of the 1997 Women's Cricket World Cup venues, hosting a One Day International played by Sri Lanka and West Indies.[16] In 1999, the ground was the venue for a veterans tournament, World Masters Series.[17]

Controversies

Karnail Singh Stadium was banned from hosting Ranji Trophy matches for the 2012-13 season by the BCCI after the pitch for a match between Railways and Saurashtra in the previous season was found to be of "poor condition".[18][13] The Railway Sports Promotion Board was requested to host its matches at another venue in February 2012.[18] RSPB has indicated that it will appeal the ban on Karnail Singh Stadium.[12]

References
  1. "Railways plans ambitious cricket stadium in Delhi". Daily News and Analysis. 8 July 2007. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  2. "One city, three matches, one day". ESPNCricinfo. 7 December 2008. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  3. "Run for a cause". The Hindu. 16 September 2008. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  4. "India/ Grounds/ Karnail Singh Stadium". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  5. Kripa Shankar, Ranjit Singh (OBE.) (2008). Sikh achievers. Hemkunt Press. p. 99. ISBN 978-81-7010-365-3.
  6. "Coming soon: Paan Singh, athlete-turned-Chambal terror". The Indian Express. 21 December 2009. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  7. "Athlete-dacoit on the run is now subject of film". The Hindu. 19 April 2009. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  8. "Tikina and Vicky win gold". The Hindu. 15 January 2004. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  9. "Kabaddi Nationals". The Hindu. 11 October 2008. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  10. "National championship gets underway today". The Hindu. 25 August 2007. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  11. "Australia in another pullout, Canada join them". The Times of India. 9 March 2010. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  12. "Railways' home ground banned". The Indian Express. 18 February 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  13. "Ex-kabaddi player was in-charge of Karnail Singh Stadium!". The Times of India. 18 February 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  14. "Railways' long struggle for success". ESPNCricinfo. 11 March 2002. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  15. "Railways plans ambitious cricket stadium in Delhi". Daily News and Analysis. 8 July 2007. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  16. "Sri Lankan lasses lash West Indies". The Hindu. 12 December 1997. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  17. "WI beat Lanka". The Indian Express. 11 February 1999. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  18. "Karnail stadium barred from hosting Ranji ties next season". The Times of India. 17 February 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
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