CHENNAI: The Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium in Egmore will come to life on August 3 when the Asian Champions Trophy kicks off with continent’s six teams vying for top honours. South Korea are the defending champions while the Indian men won bronze after defeating Pakistan. An eco-friendly astro-turf called ‘Poligras Paris GT’ in blue has been laid out at the stadium.
“The forthcoming Asian Champions Trophy will be exciting. The newly-laid turf (polyton) is being replaced after eight years. The stadium will look full blue and it has been approved by FIH,” said V Baskaran, former Olympic gold medal winning hockey captain and president of the Chennai Hockey Association. “In fact, Chennai Hockey Association was requesting the SDAT for replacement of the turf at MRC stadium. Due to Covid, not much (work) was in progress. Now, the TN government wants to promote Tamil Nadu at the international level in sports. Happy that new sports minister Udhayanidhi Stalin is pro-sport,” he added.
While India will always be the favourites, since they will be playing on a new surface, it could be tricky. “Since (the turf) is new, the bounce will be more. Aeriel ball will land differently, prompting the defenders to be alert all the time,” opined Baskaran.
An India vs Pakistan match will be keenly followed, irrespective of the sport and this tournament is no different. “Last time India vs Pakistan match played here was in 1998, where I was the coach. Mohammed Riaz, Dhanraj Pillay played that game. In India, there will always be pressure for an Indo-Pak game. This situation has been in hockey also for ages. The match will be played in good spirit. Stadium will packed with 10,000 spectators,” said Baskaran, a veteran of several Indo-Pak Tests.
Pressure apart, Baskaran expects the Indian team to do well. He also wants the selectors to bring in local flavour by adding a player or two from Tamil Nadu. “Indian team will be coming from Spain tour and will be raring to go at the Asian meet. Harmanpreet Singh, our captain will be playing a big role. PR Sreejesh will be the crowd favourite, having played for IOB in the Chennai Hockey League. Hopefully, we will see a young forward player from Tamil Nadu like Karthik Selvan. He will be a local player and if he finds his name in the final 18, it’ll be great for the hosts,” he said.
“Having said that, one cannot take Malaysia lightly as it is youthful side. Japan is always a trouble shooter. Overall, we can expect 10 days of good international hockey, from the six best hockey teams in Asia. The stadium has been spruced up for this big competition. SDAT has spent lot of time and money to put back Tamil Nadu/Chennai hockey in the international circuit. Also, this is the first time since Hockey India was formed a major tournament is coming to Chennai. Thanks to Hockey India and Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu,” he signed off.