Agra sports units look forward to turnaround

Vishal Sharma / New Delhi/ Agra

August 26, 2008

Besides increasing hopes for a better performance in the forthcoming Commonwealth games, the Olympic medals by the Indian sportsmen is also to have a positive effect on the teetering sporting goods industry of Agra.

While future sportsmen can be seen lined up for their turn at the racing tracks and swimming pool in the town’s only stadium, the newly constructed municipal shooting range is also witnessing a higher turnout of amateur shooters despite being located in the town’s outskirts.

Once famous in north India as a major hub for cricket bat manufacturing, the sporting goods industry of Agra is now reduced to barely a handful of bat manufacturing units due to the shortage of raw material like willow and cane, used in the manufacture of bats.

Other units manufacturing stuff like weight lifting equipment and hockey sticks are also on the verge of downing their shutters due to lack of business. The only segments where the Agra sporting goods units have managed to remain in the race are the manufacture of cricket pads, gloves, guards and sport shoes etc., where the expertise gained by the burgeoning footwear industry of the town plays an important role.

Talking to Business Standard, Amit Mahajan, proprietor, Mahajan Industries said that though the Agra sporting goods industry was not directly affected by the Olympic wins of Indian sportsmen as this town was mainly engaged in the manufacture of cricket-related gear, but the sudden interest being shown in sports by the youngsters of the town will certainly give a boost to business.

He said that sport shoes were the basic requirement for any budding sportsman and this was a field where the footwear manufacturers of Agra were skilled.

Since the locally manufactured sport shoes were inexpensive and had sufficient durability, they were favored by upcoming sportsmen as well as amateurs. Following the surge in the sporting spirits of the locals, the sports footwear manufacturers were bound to profit from it.

Harish Khandelwal, proprietor, Hindustan Gun House claimed that the Olympic gold medal brought home by Abhinav Bindra, combined with the recent construction of an national-level Municipal shooting range in Agra had given the air-rifle and accessories business of the town a new lease of life.

Every day, youngsters and grown-ups alike were showing up at various gun-shops of the town inquiring about the various models of air-rifles available here.

Currently, only piston-type air-rifles were in stock for amateur shooters in the gun houses across the town but if the demand for better equipment continued to grow, the gun houses could look into stocking professional gas-based and pneumatic rifles.

Regional Sports Officer Ajay Sethi believes that the medals will encourage more sportsmen to come forward and demand better training.

He said that the sporting organizations of the town were ready to put in more efforts towards training more sportsmen for the upcoming commonwealth games and he was hopeful that the requirements for inexpensive sporting gear for the athletes will be met by the local manufacturers.

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