THOOTHUKUDI: Hockey players and enthusiasts in Thoothukudi complain that the size of the hockey field at district sports complex has shrunk in the aftermath of expansion of athletic track.
The Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) is giving the playground, also called Tharuvai grounds, located on George Road a facelift at a cost of Rs 4 crore. The work include raising the level to prevent flooding during the monsoon.
As a part of the project, the SDAT campus is being levelled using fly ash, charal and red sand so as to raise the ground to two-feet above the existing ground level so that gravity could drain the rainwater naturally.
However. hockey players allege that officials had expanded the athletic track which had reduced the standard size of the hockey field. As per International Hockey Federation (FIH) norms, the standard size of a field hockey ground should be 91.40 meters (100 yards) long and 55.00 meters (60 yards) wide. Siva Suriyan, a hockey coach, said the the field area would now come down to 49 meters instead of 55 meters.
“This is the district headquarters ground. If the hockey field is not of international standards, the SDAT cannot conduct any district and state level tournaments. Even inter-district level matches cannot be conducted”, he said.
“Playing in a non-standard field will affect the game of the player, said Siva, a senior hockey player.
In addition, players pointed out that there is no plan to raise the hockey arena. “The state government must consider constructing a synthetic hockey field”, he said. “Hockey is our national sport, but the officials do not give it due attention”, said Ravi Shankar, a senior coach.
When contacted, SDAT district sport officer Rathna Raj said the athletic track has been expanded with an aim to convert it into synthetic track. This had eaten up a few meters of the hockey field. “We will take it to the knowledge of the higher officials and steps will be taken to rectify”, he said.