JOIN USThe relaid blue turf at the hockey stadium here will be inaugurated on April 20, Anupam Agarwal, the director of the Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports (DYES) said on Thursday.
“The new turf (from Dutch manufacturer Greenfields) is ready and will be inaugurated by Sports Minister Pramod Madhwaraj and other guests,” Agarwal said.
While the marking of the field and installation of sprinklers have been carried out, new goal posts are expected to arrive by early next week. “The drainage around the pitch has been covered, the floodlights are in place. Certain areas around the playing area needs some patch work, that’s going on now,” K Krishnamurthy, Secretary at Hockey Bengaluru, told Deccan Herald.
“The sprinklers are also in place. The mechanical ones have been tested and look fine. The manual ones will stay as a back-up if the need arises,” he added stating that the FIH inspection (to certify the surface) will be carried out in the coming days. The DYES also has plans to improve the floodlighting at the venue.
The stadium is scheduled to host the Sub-junior national boys hockey championship from April 24 to May 5. A few matches of the tournament are expected to be staged in the night, Krishnamurthy said the existing floodlights were sufficient for the same.
“With the Hockey India League coming to Bengaluru next year, improved lighting will be a necessity. And by then we’re sure things will be in order,” he said.
DH News Service