Indira Gandhi hockey on revival path

Monday, November 17th, 2008 AT 11:11 PM
QAISER MOHAMMAD ALI

New Delhi:

Efforts to revive the Indira Gandhi International Men’s Hockey Tournament have begun and if everything goes according to plan, the 11th edition would be held next year – after an 11-year gap.

The Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) has given the responsibility of organising the tournament to the Jawaharlal Nehru Sports Trust (JNST), which has approached the top seven teams – Olympic champions Germany, Australia, the Netherlands, Pakistan, South Africa, Spain and South Korea.

“We have asked the JNST to revive the tournament. But since the international calendar is fully packed it is not easy to get the dates from the top teams,” IHF ad hoc committee convenor Mohammad Aslam Khan told Sakaal Times.

Delhi would have the ideal choice as venue, but since both the National Stadium and the Shivaji Stadium are being renovated for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the capital has been ruled out. Gurgaon, adjoining Delhi, could be chosen as the alternate venue as it has an artificial turf.

JNST is looking for a window in March or April to organise the tourney that was launched in memory of Gandhi following her assassination in 1984. Some of the teams are, however, unlikely to agree for a March or April a lot as they will be playing in the Euro league during this period.

The tourney was a huge success when it was launched in 1987 in Lucknow as the locals thronged the stadium despite it being on the outskirts of the city. The venue was shifted to Delhi in 1995 and only three more editions were held – last being in 1997 – before the tourney fizzled out of the international calendar, thanks to callous attitude of IHF officials.