CHENNAI
In a major development, Pakistan and China have confirmed their participation in the 7th Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament to be held at the SDAT-Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium here from August 3 to 12. Confirming the news, J. Sekar Manoharan, president of the Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu and treasurer of Hockey India (HI) told The Hindu here on Monday, “Since there were doubts expressed by the media on the two teams (China and Pakistan) participation, we are happy to inform you that they have sent their confirmation.”
Manoharan further said HUTN has almost identified the venue for the practice turf. It will be a tennis court just adjacent to the entrance of the SDAT-Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium. A practice turf is a primary requirement if a city has to host a major International tournament. “The four tennis courts inside the Stadium were not used extensively, and we are glad to change them to practice turf. We are hoping to start the work in May,” he said. However, an Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) official said that nothing is confirmed as of now, but HI has taken the measurements.
Meanwhile, representatives from SDAT, HUTN & HI are visiting Rourkela and Bhubaneswar—venues that hosted quite a few Hockey World Cups — to get an idea of what it takes to organise an International event.
