Bald SAI turf makes campers unhappy
BANGALORE: The demand for a new hockey turf at the Sports Authority of India, South Centre, grew louder as the first phase of the national camp came to an end on Saturday. Camp in-charge SS Grewal was clearly unhappy with the Polytan turf, now nearly a decade old, and said a new pitch would be ideal if Bangalore had to remain as base for hockey. “I have made a mention of this in my report to Hockey India,” he said.
There is no imminent danger of the camp being shifted out but the misgivings were evident at the end of the first phase. Work on cleaning the turf consumed a major portion of the camp, leading to shorter game sessions in restricted field spans. The MEG turf too was used but sparingly as travel time cruelly cut into the campers’ practice hours.
Obviously, the clean-up operations, which SAI believed would answer the campers’ prayers, weren’t enough to restore normality. There were bald, slippery patches to contend with and players were forced to be unusually wary. What came as a blessing was the fitness routines which took precedence as the camp wore on. “We will use MEG extensively in the next camp,” Grewal announced. “May be even one session every day if the situation demands. We have 20 days and we need to make optimum use of every single day.”
SAI director G Kishore said he would put forward a proposal to his headquarters in New Delhi. “There is no doubt we need a new turf. We aren’t too happy with its quality and the time has come for us to change it. I will send a requisition to Delhi soon,” he said.