Barely days after Hockey India's complaint of "dangerous" artificial turf at women's team training centre at Patiala, Sports Authority of India today offered HI to shift the camp at other venues to repair the pitch.
HI High Performance Director Roelant Oltmans had recently written a letter to Sports Ministry, highlighting women team coach's complaint about the "dangerous" pitch at NIS Patiala. It had said that the poor condition of artificial turf there may affect the team's preparation for the upcoming Asian Games.
SAI Director General Jiji Thomson told a press conference here that HI can shift the women's national camp at any of the 12 venues in north India which has artificial turfs, including the one at Shilaroo in Himachal Pradesh.
"We have come to know that some of the artificial turfs' seams at the NIS Patiala pitch have come out but it is not a big one. It is a minor problem. We are sending a SAI team there tomorrow and these will be repaired in a few days," Thomson said.
"In the meantime while the repair work was being done, the women's team can train at any of the 12 centres in North India which have artificial turfs," he added.
Taking a dig at HI Secretary General Narinder Batra with whom he has been having a war of words, Thomson said the country has 103 artificial turfs at various centres and the SAI had never insisted on conducting national camps in New Delhi only.
"We have 103 artificial turfs in the country out of which some 20-odd are under the SAI. HI and foreign coaches want camps in Bangalore. Shilaroo SAI Center in Himachal Pradesh has excellent artificial turf and other facilities. HI does not want to hold camps there and everybody knows the reason why," Thomson said.
He said European countries like the Netherlands and Belgium, and Australia have lesser number of artificial turfs than India but the national teams of these countries were giving better performance.
Interestingly, on Thomson's directions, video footages of women's team coach Neil Hawgood, who praised the SAI for the "excellent" facilities at the NIS Patiala, was being played during the press meet.
