No room for hockey players

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No room for hockey players
ARUN KUMAR THAKUR

Ranchi, Dec. 19: With two months left for the 34th National Games, the Jharkhand Women’s Hockey Association (JWHA) is worried.

With slim chances of holding camps on the astroturf, accommodation problems are also bothering them.

For almost a year now, the girls have not had access to an astroturf for practice, though hockey has always brought pride to the state.

Coaches feel that the state is likely to win a gold or another medal in women’s hockey.

“The main astroturf would be ready by the month-end and we could start on the second phase of coaching in the first week of January, but where do we accommodate 45 girls?” said JWHA president Mridula Sinha.

The astroturf complex has plenty of rooms and halls but none are available for hockey players. Equipment for Games are stored at the astroturf complex. This rules out rooms on the ground floor for players.

On the first floor hall a couple of thousand of volunteers for the Games would be trained, said an official.

Accommodating 45 girls in some dharmashala would not be feasible because of various reasons, including getting them to the stadium for coaching.

Besides, JWHA officials are also not happy with the practice turf and said it was ladi without consulting them.

The National Games are slated to begin on February 15, 2009.

Note: This article appeared in print fortnight ago.>