Singapore Sojourn: Tit Bits Here and there
Part I

Sengkang Sports and Recreation Centre, where the Colts’ World Cup is underway, is a beauty to behold. On two sides are plenty of green play fields while almost all sides are surrounded by towering residential flats of same height, probably 18-20 floors each.

The sports facility is not mammoth, very simple, can barely accommodate 2000 people if at all so many will turn up. Constructed stand marks the one end of the main pitch. The good space between two pitches, laid parallel to each other, is well utilized to cater to various utilities. This space holds temporary tent areas in which, from north to south, stands media room, VIP Lounge and then room for umpires and officials.

On southern part of the space, temporary stands that can accommodate 500 spectators on each side has been put up. Below this is a ground floor, which houses change rooms for the teams. “These change rooms are one of the best I saw” said Pradip Dutta, Indian team’s fitness person.

The whole thing is a make shift arrangement. The government, which owns all the facilities here, is all set to build good structures on the space between two pitches to house Singapore Hockey Association which is now operating Delta Sports Complex.

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One good thing for mediamen here is, by sitting on your table in the media room you can watch the matches on both pitches. Both pitches are hardly 20 feet away from media room.

Another great news is wireless facility. Both pitches and the media room area are wi-fi enabled. You can be anywhere, on the stands, close to pitch, anywhere, you are hooked to internet. This is in particular eased my task of text commentating without compromising on simultaneous photo shooting.

There are only a hand few media men here, the media anchor, usually the ESPN guys, brings both team coaches together and initiate discussion. I am the lone journalist from India, though an official connected with the team management seems to report to someone. Of course yesterday an quintessential Punjabonline guy appeared in the media room.

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Though the Sengkang Sports facility is new area, reaching here is simple if you prefer MRT — LRT combine. It is not only speedier but also cost effective. Get down at Sengkang MRT and then climb two floors take the LRT. Morning upto evening 3 PM the LRT takes clock wise journey after that anticlockwise. Farmway is where one has to get down, 2 stops from Sengkang if the LRT is clockwise bound otherwise six stations. Better you reach there before 3 PM, the time your media room also starts.

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Lot of youngsters travel in the LRT to reach the sports centre, but their attraction is football, basketball and of course the omnipresent swimming pool. Hockey facilities are just adjacent to the swimming pool. In the last four trips here, only time I found some kids with a hockey sticks, both sisters. Is hockey a girls sports in Singapore, as it is in many Euro nations?