A day after Hindustan Times highlighted the dilapidated condition of Punjab Agricultural University’s (PAU’s) Prithipal Singh Hockey Stadium, the sports department swung into action and began maintenance work on Friday.
Wild vegetation around the stadium was chopped and gunny bags filled with cement were removed. Besides, the washroom and changing area were cleaned.
As the city was soaked in celebration of Indian’s bronze medal victory at the Tokyo Olympics, the local hockey stadium with its slippery turf, overgrown vegetation and crumbling infrastructure highlighted the indifferent attitude of the sports department and PAU authorities.
Veteran hockey players including former hockey coach HS Bhullar, former Olympian Hardeep Singh Grewal and veteran player Jagbir Grewal said that the authorities have finally woken up from their slumber.
Former players celebrate women’s team’s performance
Veteran hockey players gathered at PAU hockey stadium to celebrate the stellar performance of the women’s hockey team at the Tokyo Olympics. They distributed sweets to celebrate the occasion.
Former hockey player Anil Sharma said that while men’s hockey had seen it highs and lows, the women’s team was considered underdogs before the Olympics. “What the girls have done is phenomenal. They have inspired an entire generation and we hope that more girls take up the sport,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Former hockey player Anil Sharma said that while men’s hockey had seen it highs and lows, the women’s team was considered underdogs before the Olympics. “What the girls have done is phenomenal. They have inspired an entire generation and we hope that more girls take up the sport,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Many former PAU and GADVASU students and officials, including Dr Lajwinder Singh Brar, Dr Ramesh Kumar and Dr Navdeep Singh, who had played hockey for the agriculture university, said that Tokyo had been lucky for India.
Charanjit Singh, who had led India to a gold in the 1964 Olympics, was a student of PAU and had later served at the varsity.