Happy with preparations,says FIH boss

It was a hurriedly called press conference that saw a sizeable media presence,all wondering what it was all about.

It was a hurriedly called press conference that saw a sizeable media presence,all wondering what it was all about. But if anyone was expecting International Hockey Federation (FIH) president Leandro Negre and IOA president Suresh Kalmadi to come out with some new information,they were disappointed. In fact,even after the briefing was over,there were confused faces around,trying to figure out the reason behind addressing the media at a short notice.

While Negre reiterated that the National Stadium in the capital was nearly done and would be ready in a few days,Kalmadi only repeated his assurances of having a transparent and democratic elections to Hockey India on February 7. With no new information coming forth,Negre was asked about the scrapped test event at the venue and the lack of any matches on the new surface. A test event is not mandatory before the World Cup, he said,in a volte-face from the FIH’s stand six months back.

We had recommended it (a four-nation event) as the stadium is a new one. As far as I know,a few matches will be played here before the World Cup, he added after an inspection of the venue in the evening. Negre said though there were concerns about the organisation of Hockey India and preparations for the World Cup,the FIH was now satisfied. FIH had lot of concerns that things were not organised properly in one of our member countries. But now we are very happy with how things are moving here. The stadium is beautiful, he said.

On his part,Kalmadi was unaware of the Indian team’s training schedule,saying he expected the team to start practicing at the stadium from the second week of February. He also brushed aside concerns about loss of home advantage. With thousands of fans cheering for them,the Indian players will always feel at home. And they will also get more time here than any other team, he said. Chief coach Jose Brasa had recently said the stadium should be made available at the earliest. Sources at the ongoing camp in Pune,however,said they were supposed to begin camp in the Capital from Feb. 2.

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