Tegh Bahadur football: Organisers furious as free participation event sees women teams MIA

I was not charging any registration fee for the girls in a bid to promote the sport for them, but these teams have just misused the opportunity, says organiser Sukhinder Singh Ahluwalia.

PUNE As the women’s category of the Tegh Bahadur tournament got underway, 15 teams are now down to seven, leaving organiser Sukhinder Singh Ahluwalia infuriated.

Sukhinder Singh Ahluwalia, organiser of the football tournament, said that since there was no fee, every team registered their name, and now they are either backing out or not showing up at the venue in Pune. (SHANKAR NARAYAN?HT)

Ahluwalia specified that a couple of teams had to back out because of the Indian Women’s League (IWL), while the others did not give a valid reason for their last minute withdrawal from the tournament. “I was not charging any registration fee for the girls in a bid to promote the sport for them, but these teams have just misused the opportunity. Since there was no fee, every team registered their name, and now they are either backing out or not showing up at the venue,” said Ahluwalia.

“I did not face a problem with the men’s category. Everyone who paid the registration fee showed up on time and played. I have learnt my lesson,” added Ahluwalia.

Pune Soccer Club showed up and played with just nine players. SKF, who faced Pune Soccer Club, won the one-sided contest 4-0.

“It is just wrong to confirm your participation and then not turn up with your team on match day. I hate awarding walkovers without a valid reason,” said Ahluwalia.