Kerala State School Sports Meet Marred by Organisational Lapses; Muslim League MLAs Face Social Media Trolling

Kozhikode: The State School Sports Meet is being overshadowed by unprecedented organisational failures, with complaints mounting by the day. Allegations include athletes being denied even drinking water and worms being found in food served to students. Despite the event being plagued by problems, Muslim League MLAs are repeatedly claiming that the sports meet being held in Kozhikode is one of the best in its history. Faisal Babu and Fathima Thahliya have praised the event, claiming it is being organised along the lines of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and that future editions should take inspiration from Kozhikode.

“We will make it big. When the State School Sports Meet is held in the future, everyone will talk about the Kozhikode model, just like the Qatar model at the World Cup,” the MLAs said.

Their remarks have triggered a wave of trolling on social media, with users pointing to the organisational lapses at the sports meet.

The criticism comes at a time when organisational negligence is threatening to undermine the dreams and hard work of young athletes. Problems have plagued the event since its opening day. Issues began after the decision to split the sports meet, which had previously been conducted in a more structured manner, across multiple venues. The first major incident occurred when a tent collapsed at the venue in Thrissur where the school games were held, injuring athletes and others.

Complaints began pouring in from the time the meet opened in Kozhikode. Students who arrived from various districts to participate in the inclusive sports events held on the first day were not provided with food, forcing many to go hungry. Teachers were also left without food. Some people collapsed from exhaustion after waiting in queues for hours without receiving anything to eat.

There were also complaints that people who arrived at the food distribution centre at the main venue were verbally abused and driven away on the grounds that they did not have coupons. Accommodation was arranged by cramming around 20 children into small classrooms. The following day, worms were found in food served to students. The worms were discovered in the breakfast provided on Tuesday.

Scheduling errors also prevented some athletes from participating in their events. Athletes missed the opportunity to compete at the State School Sports Meet because the organisers scheduled the National Junior Athletics Meet and the state-level school meet on consecutive days.

Despite the repeated problems, neither the ministers concerned nor the Chief Minister has intervened or attempted to resolve the issues.