ISLAMABAD, March 21: Pakistan’s chances of clinching an Olympic hockey medal in London have further diminished after the sudden removal of national team’s Dutch coach Michel van den Heuvel and also due to the fact that all the matches in the mega event will be held on blue astro turf rather than the customary green which could take the greenshirts completely off guard.

The striking ‘blue’ turf was unveiled last year by the organising committee and it is for the first time that countries will feature in Olympics on the blue turf which will be the world’s fastest pitch according to the game’s critics. Along with change of pitch colour, the run-off areas are shocking pink.

In October last year, Leandro Negre, President of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) was quoted as saying by the London Olympics website that: “It is very exciting to see the Hockey Centre now taking shape and seeing the blue pitch for the first time. We feel confident that the spectators both in the stands and on television will get a fantastic visual experience.”

Since the Pakistan team as well as most outfits in Asia have had their grooming on the standard green turfs throughout, it will take them quite a lot of time to get used to the blue-coloured pitch which could affect their performance a great deal in the forthcoming Olympic Games.

Amir Bilal, a renowned sports analyst, told Dawn: “The FIH has approved the blue hockey pitch for Olympics and they did advice their members to establish the same in their countries for better results. However, Pakistan failed to heed the FIH advice and the team continued to practice on the green pitch during the entire training camp which may cost us badly now.”

Bilal maintained that the blue pitch will put Pakistan team under tremendous psychological pressure against teams like England, Holland, Spain, Germany, Australia and several others who have been practicing on the blue turf for the challenging extravaganza.

“Besides, Pakistan may not even make it in the top six because we have already lost our qualified Dutch coach and a number of leading players to India’s WSH,” said Bilal.

PHF Secretary Asif Bajwa, when approached for his comments on the issue, admitted that Pakistan team could be at a disadvantage in the mega event since they had not practised on the recommended blue hockey pitch. “I agree that we have lost a lot of time by playing on the green pitch but it is the fault of Punjab Sports Board which played dirty and opted for delaying tactics in installing the blue pitch,” said the former Olympian.

Bajwa added that Punjab’s Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif was kind enough to allocate funds for laying down the blue pitch in Lahore but Punjab Sports Board officials resorted to red tape and the blue turf could not be made available to the national team players..

Asked what alternative the PHF has planned for countering this problem, Bajwa said: “We will be playing Azlan Shah Hockey Cup on the blue pitch which will help us prepare for the Games. Besides, our team will also go to England two weeks ahead of the event to practice on the blue pitch extensively.”