Now, turf woe hits hockey Nationals

Sudheendra TripathiSudheendra Tripathi, TNN

BHOPAL: Initially, the Senior National Hockey Championships for men was scheduled to be played across four venues. The organizers were proud of the fact that in a quaint, yet bustling town like Bhopal they had the facility of multiple artificial turfs.

Sure, they have four turfs – three of them just perfect to conduct a tournament of the magnitude of Senior Nationals. But the fourth venue, built in the heart of the city in the Mayur Park locality, looks far from ready to conduct a competitive match. “Yahan par ek saal tak match nahin ho sakta,” said one of the workers responsible for laying the turf.

Agreed, the turf has been laid and sprinklers are in place (they were even put to test on Monday), but there is no electricity yet. A generator was arranged so that tests could be conducted on the sprinkler system.

The organizers, who had identified the Mayur Park venue to hold matches from the quarterfinal stage onwards, now acknowledge the risks involved in conducting top draw matches on the new pitch (without playing any practice games).

But they also insist that they are ready to conduct matches if the technical director gives them the go-ahead.

But tournament director Shakeel Quresi has started preparing a revised schedule. “It will be unfair on the players. The pitch has not even been tested. I wouldn’t allow matches to be played at the venue (Mayur Park),” he said.