Players find National Stadium pitch bouncy

NEW DELHI: Foreign players on Monday said that the newly-laid poligras turf at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium which is hosting the 12th hockey World Cup is little bumpy and creates problems in trapping the ball.

Veteran Dutch drag-flicker Taeke Taekema, who scored the tournament’s first hat-trick on Monday, said the pitch does not behave in a smooth manner when it is dry.

“The pitch is little bumpy sometimes, specially when it is dry and not watered. In practice matches also we faced a few problems but luckily today it was fine,” Taekema said.

His views were backed by Argentina skipper Martin Lucas Rey, who said they faced a few problems in stopping the ball.

“The pitch was bouncy. We had a lot of problems. Once I pushed the ball but the stopper couldn’t stop it as it suddenly bounced in front of him,” he said.