THE JUNIOR Asia Cup hockey tournament organising committee is trying to conduct as many matches as possible during the day as there is no power backup for floodlights at the Gacchibowli Stadium. “On most days we have two matches per day, while on certain days four matches are scheduled. But we will try to hold all matches during daytime as we don’t have the power backup for floodlights,” said an organising committee member.

Traffic nightmare

The world famous Charminar monument and special Hyderabadi biryani apart, the city’s traffic is a chaotic mess to say the least. Crossing the roads is one hell of a task as one found out while crossing the road near the Lakdi ka pul! The best way out is to hop, jump and dodge the traffic to reach the other side of the road. “For us, it’s routine… it’s become a part of our lives,” said a certain Srinivasan Rao as he adroitly negotiated the speedy traffic on way to reaching the safety of the other side.

CM bails out tournament

After the dissolution of the K.P.S. Gill-led Indian Hockey Federation (IHF), it’s a new beginning for Indian hockey under the Indian Olympic Association-appointed ad-hoc committee. “So far nothing has been handed over to the committee by Gill…we are having to do everything afresh,” said Mohd Aslam, a member of the ah-hoc committee. But thanks to a sum of Rs 50 lakh given to us by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Y.S. Rajshekhar Reddy, we have been able to tide over the problem,” said Aslam.

No live coverage

There will be no live coverage of the event as Doodarshan has reportedly asked the organising committee to deposit an undisclosed sum. “It’s really strange.
The Prime Minister had recently mentioned hockey in one of his speeches… I am going to bring it to the notice of the concerned authorities,” said Aslam