LAHORE, Mar: Pakistan’s new hockey coach Akhtar Rasool lamented the condition of the astro-turf here at the National Hockey Stadium on his first day in-charge at the national training camp on Monday.
The former Olympian, who replaced Dutchman Michel van den Heuvel earlier this month, claimed that the condition of the turf is pathetic condition and demanded the Punjab government to show some sort of nationalism and lay a new blue-coloured one as promised by Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
“As the Olympics are just four months away, the Punjab government should have installed the blue astro-turf as the funds for it has already been sanctioned almost one year back,” he said referring to the fact that the turf for the hockey competition at the Olympic games in London will be blue.
The second phase of the training camp for the Olympics as well as back-to-back assignments; the three-nation tournament in Lahore and Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia ahead of the Games started on Monday.
Akhtar said the three-nation tournament featuring India and Malaysia along with Pakistan cannot be held at the current pitch and quick steps need to be taken by the Punjab Sports Board to lay a new blue-coloured turf.
“For the sake of the national cause, Shahbaz Sharif should take immediate action against those who are creating unnecessary delays in re-laying the new pitch,” he said.
Although the Punjab government had sanctioned an amount of Rs30 million for the blue turf about a year back, there are reports that the bureaucracy is creating problems in giving the tender to a right party to import the turf from abroad.
Moreover, the Punjab Sports Board organised a painting contest at the turf last Saturday with hundreds of artists working on the pitch to make the biggest painting in the world to go into the ‘Guinness Book of World Records’ and that event has rendered the turf even worse.
In the latest developments to take place on Monday, Punjab Sports Board has cut the supply of electricity to the National Hockey Stadium in reaction to Akhtar’s comments, a PHF employee disclosed.
“This has been done on the directive of the DG Sports of the province,” the stadium caretaker said.
Akhtar added that penalty-corner specialist Sohail Abbas, who did not join the camp on its first day, had met him a few days back and informed him about the condition of his jaw which he broke in the Champions Trophy in Auckland.
“Sohail Abbas may join the training camp at any day,” Akhtar said.
Akhtar also informed that he will be placing special emphasis on improving the fitness level of the players. He said that the players had their individual flaws and he would try to remove them using his 43-year experience of the game.
