‘No culture anyway’

But Harinder Singh, the national junior development coach from 1998 to 2006, said there was nothing to worry since hockey was never too popular in the Capital in the first place, and so the question of its fading away didn’t arise. His argument, which was itself laced with irony: “Youngsters from the Capital hardly got a chance to play on the turf anyway. The state body, which doesn’t have any development programme has already killed hockey in the city. With the closure of the national stadium, it will only effect the functioning of the academies. Delhi has been more popular for competitions and never for producing hockey players.”

Chiranjeet Singh, the general secretary of the Delhi Hockey Association, didn’t agree with that point of view. “Some players from the state have made it to the national squad in recent times. They have been trainees of the academies and not from school or college,” he said. “Since National Stadium is closed down, we might have to organise the annual league competition this year on grass.”

So, if and when the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) sits down to plan the resurgence of Indian hockey, it should perhaps look at places other than New Delhi — the city in which it has its headquarters — to start the process.