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Cashless HI leaves young talent in lurch
Hockey India (HI) isn’t just struggling to award triumphant players with decent money, it is finding hard to organise even the junior nationals.
Hockey India (HI) isn’t just struggling to award triumphant players with decent money, it is finding hard to organise even the junior nationals.
The proposed nationals were supposed to be held in Jharkhand in May-June. But the event got postponed several times before the state backed out. “Jharkhand backed out at the eleventh hour. All the meetings with the Jharkand government had ended on a positive note. But they eventually refused,” said Narinder Batra, secretary general of HI.
Financial constraints are believed to have influenced Jharkhand’s decision. In the absence of any other state coming forward to host it, the junior meet may not be held at all this year. Batra, though, says there is still a possibility. Lack of junior nationals will hamper India’s preparations for the junior World Cup which they host in 2013.
Why not New Delhi?
With world-class facilities built for the Commonwealth Games, New Delhi should have been the right choice to host the event. But costly accommodation has forced HI to ignore the Capital. “Holding tournaments in other parts of the country is less expensive," said Batra.
No coach for girls
Meanwhile, preparations of the under-18 girls team for the Asia Cup hockey which begins today in Bangkok, were marred by the unavailability of the chief coach.
BK Subramani, the chief coach, could not report for the first phase of the preparatory camp in Bhopal because he couldn’t get leave from his employers, the army. He joined at the fag end as in now with the team in Bangkok.
