Super Division tourney shifted to city
Bangalore: It is official now. Karnataka State Hockey Association’s (KSHA) ambitious endeavour to take competitive hockey back to Kodagu has failed to take off as the association was forced to shift the venue of the second phase of the Super Division hockey league from Madikeri to SAI South Centre, Bangalore.
The decision comes against the backdrop of absence of any response from authorities concerned regarding the conduct of the league in Madikeri. KSHA allotted its premier event to Madikeri three months back but the programme hit rough weather as the newly-laid Poligras turf there is not ready for match play since it has not passed the final test stipulated by the International Hock ey Federation (FIH).
“The efforts to have the second phase of the competition conducted at Madikeri has not yielded any positive result and hence, there is no option but to complete the championship at Bangalore itself. All the participating teams are accordingly being informed,” said an official statement from KSHA.
Disappointed by the development, KSHA secretary K Krishnamurthy said the change in the venue would be a huge blow for the hockey-loving people in Kodagu.
“There is no point in waiting further for any intimation on approval for conduct of the tournament in Madikeri. It would delay our preparation for the second phase in Bangalore.
“Anyway, this is a sad development because Madikeri undoubtedly is a sporting venue. Large number of spectators could have thronged the venue. They have now missed an opportutity to enjoy big time hockey after a long time,” rued Krishnamurthy.
KSHA has now officially requested the director, SAI South Centre, to provide the facilities to conduct the second phase at the Kenkeri campus, which at present is hosting the opening phase. According to SAI sources, the second phase too can be duly accommodated and any clash of interests that might come up due to camps held there can be sorted out.
However, the KSHA secretary refrained from blaming anyone for the embarassing situation.“I am not ready for the blame game. When KSHA took the decision to allot the event to Madikeri three months back, we did not know about the pitch test required. If we had known anything on that, this situation would not have arised,” added Krishnamurthy.
Uproar in Kodagu:
In contrast, there was uproar and allegations of sabotage and foul play as the decision trickled down the Coorg Hockey Association ranks. CHA president Mohan Aiyappa held both the Central Public Works Department and the Sports Authority of India responsible for Madikeri losing its right to host the event.
“This is nothing but sabotage,” Aiyappa told TOI. “All along we were led to believe everything was hunky dory. Then comes the talk about FIH guidelines and the clause that the Centre for Sports Technology (CST), London has to conduct the final inspection before the turf can be used for hockey .
“The CPWD and SAI have conveniently twisted a few rules to their advantage. They say nobody can play on the turf unless the CST completes the inspection. So how did they allow the Sports Hostel girls to practice on the turf ? We have video recordings of it as proof.”
Aiyappa said the turf did not belong to SAI alone. “The land is ours. We have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with them which states that the youth of Kodagu should benefit from the facility. Now, it seems as if SAI wants the turf only for the sports hostel girls.”
Aiyappa plans to convene an emergency meeting of the executive committee in the next few days to decide on the future course of action.
“I will get to the bottom of this episode. SAI and CPWD have played dirty. The time and energy that we have spent on roping in sponsors and preparing for the event have gone waste. The meeting will decide what we ought to do in the coming weeks.”