E-Paper
State women’s hockey tournament a ‘knockout’ - 8 of 12 teams fail to show up in Pune ground
Hockey Maharashtra official said participating districts were informed in September, two months in advance, and are responsible for sending teams.
PUNE The Maharashtra State Senior Women’s Hockey tournament, supposed to have begun on a league-cum-knockout basis on Wednesday, was in total disarray as nine of the 12 teams expected to participate did not show up at the Balewadi stadium.
Manoj Bhore’s, honorary secretary of Hockey Maharashtra, seemed blissfully unconcerned about the turn of events, as one thing led to another and from 8am, as the state’s premium hockey tournament for women, spiralled out of control.
The teams expected to take part in the tourney, from which the Maharashtra women’s hockey team is likely to be selected, are Sangli, Satara, Kolhapur, Solapur, Nandurbar, Nashik, Ratnagiri, Osmanabad, Aurangabad, Pune, Jalgaon and Nanded.
HT recounts how a day that swung from the bizarre to the ridiculous, unfolded.
Wednesday, 8am
HT reaches the Balewadi hockey stadium. At 8.30am, referees show up. Ground is marked and ready. Dugouts are clean and ready. No added tournament necessities like water stations and medical facilities are seen.
9am
Manoj Bhore’s, honorary secretary, Hockey Maharashtra, is conspicuous by your absence.
“Teams have not arrived and we are unable to connect with them. I am unsure about taking any action. Let’s see,” said Bhore over the phone.
10am
Nanded team is seated in one dugout with no clue about if their match will happen or not. Nanded is supposed to play Satara at 10am.
“Nandurbar, Ratnagiri and Sangli have got delayed due to transport. Nandurbar missed their train, no further updates about them. I hope they come,” said Bhore, again when contacted on phone.
11.30am
Nanded informed that their match has been cancelled. No information on Satara team’s whereabouts.
“Nandurbar and Aurangabad have pulled out of the tournament and Hockey Maharashtra will take action against them,” Bhore said on phone.
12 noon
A water cable at the stadium cracks and water supply through sprinkles to Balewadi’s turf (carpet) is affected.
This is just as Kolhapur and Sangli are about to take the field.
“Repair work will take two hours, so we have decided to call it a day. We will start matches early tomorrow, 7 am,” claims Bhore.
Ipm
Bhore shows up at the venue.
3.30pm
No news yet from Satara, Solapur, Nashik, Osmanabad, Jalgaon and Nanded. “No information as to their whereabouts,” as per Hockey Maharashtra officials.
“All teams were suppose to be in this morning (Wednesday) as per confirmation received last night. Now I don’t know how things will go on and how many teams play the tournament,” says a Maharashtra hockey association source, requesting anonymity.
6.30pm
Manoj Bhore’s, honorary secretary, Hockey Maharashtra, was answering to HT’s phone calls and responding to texts, but was non-committal about today’s fiasco. No association official is willing to comment on what the schedule for Thursday will be. As per the plan the games will be played as following:
8am: Sangli vs Kolhapur
9:30am: Satara vs Nanded
11am: Nashik vs Jalgaon
12.30 pm:Solapur vs Pune
Meanwhile, Helen Mary, team member, 2002 Commonwealth Games Gold medallist, said, “The condition is worst when we talk about senior women players in the state. The number is declining as compared to our era. Poor job opportunity discourages many women to pursue a career in sports nowadays. We saw three senior teams today, but the number could be zero next year.”
“The sports association should include more former players and more tournaments should be organised every year. In 1970-80, there were seven Indian women players who were from Pune. The sport is declining in the country. We need good coaches and hockey must be played in every school,” said Eliza Nelson, captain of team which won 1982 Asian Games gold.
The buck stops here
Manoj Bhore, honorary secretary, Hockey Maharashtra, is the face of the organising committee and almost single-handedly, is running the show.
Teams, coaches and players exist in some fear of the association, given that nobody is willing to offer a quote on record as regards the situation.
“This is the first time Hockey Maharashtra is conducting this Maharashtra State Senior championship for women. The information about the tournament was given to the districts two months back (September). All the districts are responsible for sending teams.
“I can understand that there may be fewer women players in the senior categories in most districts, but they were told to send juniors if needed, so that hockey skills could be sharpened,” is Bhore’s view of the situation.
The cost of the tournament, as per Bhore, is ₹6,000 per day. “Each district that is not present will be sent a showcause notice,” Bhore said.
