Crowd response disappointing
One thing that distinguishes Bhopal, or for that matter any traditional hockey centres, is its ability to keep the public interest intact, which reflects on gates.
Its Jalandhar to Kovilpatti, its people who throng to stadiums who keep the hockey alive. Most domestic tournaments in non-metros attract thousands daily to stadiums.
Hockey fans in Bhopal, the city that hosts a series of events for the last two years, are famous for their regularity to stands.
Last year during the Obaidullah Cup, which was then put on place after hiatus of a decade, stands were full. It has been a delight to behold.
Now what one got to see on the eve of semifinals of the Bhopal nationals is the reverse of that.
Despite being holiday and the matches played late evening, hard one thousand people gathered. The second semifinal in particular deserved full stands.
What happened to the Bhopal crowd?
Most in the organizers’ side attribute to attrition. “Only recently we hosted the Obaiduallah. Cup. People have seen enough hockey, it looks”, said one of the officers of the Department of Youth Welfare and Sports, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh.
Around 50 matches, on three grounds, four or five matches each day, most of them one-sided, yes, no one can predict crowd response everyday on every ground.
But semifinals is a different proposition. It’s where performance peak, suspense of the long tournament reach its climax, at the close of the 10-day long tournament. These two most important matches were held on a holiday, that too most ideal of them all, Saturday evening, but had no much takers.
Therefore, the poor attendance one witnessed at Aisbagh stadium should open the eyes of hockey owners.
There is a need to package hokey events, lest even traditional hockey centre may no longer would count so.