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All the news for Saturday 10 January 2009

Juniors fall to WAIS

THE National Juniors lost 2-0 to Western Australia Institute of Sports (WAIS) in their run-up to the Australian Youth Olympic Festival (AYOF) in Sydney on Jan 14-18.

Malaysia will meet the Australian Juniors today.

In the Under-20 AYOF, Malaysia will be up against the hosts, Britain and India.

"We were down 1-0 by half-time, and WAIS scored in the final minutes to make it 2-0.

"The team played well, and my personal opinion is that a draw would have been a fair result," said Juniors coach K. Rajan.

While the WAIS were a senior outfit, Rajan tested all his players but will field his best against the Australian Juniors today.

"I will have a better idea tomorrow (today) as both the teams will be of the same age. I will field the best, and it should be an interesting match."

Malaysia have taken 26 players for the Tour-cum-tournament, and will return on Jan 24, as more friendlies have been arranged after the AYOF.

New Straits Times

PSB, PP share title

Special Correspondent

KOLKATA: Former champions Punjab and Sind Bank (PSB) and Punjab Police (PP) were declared joint champions of the Coal India 113th all-India Beighton Cup hockey championship at the SAI ground here on Friday.

The two teams, sporting a number of internationals, were tied 2-2 at the end of the regulation time and 15 minutes of extra-time in the final match. As the tiebreaker was about to be introduced, the two captains agreed to share the trophy owing to poor light condition.

The verdict enabled PSB to win the trophy for the fifth time while PP won it for the fourth time.

Incisive raids

The game opened with PSB dominating the proceedings with incisive raids. The bankmen used the flanks to good effect and tried to breakthrough with some fine cross-field and through passes.

The mounting pressure did the trick and PSB scored in the 30th minute through Ranjodh Singh’s field goal. Even before Punjab policemen could recover, came PSB’s second strike a minute later. This time Rajwinder Singh made no mistake.

The two-goal cushion lulled PSB into complacency. After the change of sides, Punjab Police attacked repeatedly. Prompted by the best player of the tournament, Balwant Singh, the policemen broke through the PSB defence.

The team got its first goal in the 45th minute through the hard-working forward Amit Singh. Three minutes later an acrobatic push by Jagbir Singh restored parity.

Extra time drama

The game went into extra time where Punjab Police dominated. However, a few minutes before the final hooter, PSB got a hit just outside the striking circle and the ball flew into the net.

Umpire Barinder Singh, who did not have a good match, whistled for a goal but changed his decision to a hit in favour of Punjab Police.

PSB refused to continue the game and it was left to the local officials to convince the team to return. The game finally ended in a draw.

The Hindu

Punjab Police, PSB declared joint winners of Beighton Cup

KOLKATA: High drama marked the final of the Coal India All India 113th Beighton Cup on Friday as Punjab Police and Punjab and Sind Bank (PSB), who were locked 2-2 till extra time, sharing the trophy after the tie-breaker was called off due to "insufficient light".

PSB's Ranjodh Singh opened the scoring in the 30th minute with teammate Rajwinder Singh adding a second one minute later.

Punjab Police bounced back with goals from Amit Singh (45th) and Jagbir Singh (48th).

The match stretched into extra-time and three minutes before the hooter, PSB scored a goal which though was disallowed by umpire HS Sokhi.

A free-hit from outside the D flew into the net and though the goal was initially awarded to PSB by umpire Mandeep Singh, it was later overturned by Sokhi.

PSB players, however, started celebrating the golden goal and left the field thus wasting a lot of time. They were finally made to see reason by organising committee Secretary Gurbux Singh.

Play resumed after a 10 minute delay. Both took the field for the tie-breaker but the captains of the two teams complained of insufficient light and the title was awarded to both the teams.

"Both captains complained insufficient light. Even I felt the light was not OK for the match to continue, so I decided that the trophy be shared," Sokhi said.

The Times of India

Punjab outfits share title

PSB captain Mandeep Singh (left) and Punjab Police captain Kanwalpreet Singh with the Beighton Cup at the SAI Complex in Calcutta on Friday. A Telegraph picture

Calcutta: Archrivals Punjab Police and Punjab & Sind Bank (PSB) were adjudged joint winners in the Coal India 113th All India Beighton Cup at the SAI complex on Friday.

The Punjab outfits were locked 2-2 after extra time, when both the captains complained of insufficient light. The penalty shoot-out couldn’t take place forcing the organisers to declare them joint winners.

This was the 11th time that Beighton Cup had joint winners, 28 years after EME Jalandhar and Eastern Railway Athletic Association were declared the same in 1982.

Dominating from the word go Punjab Sind Bank took the lead in the 30th minute when Ranjodh Singh flicked in a cross from the left flank.

One minute later, exploiting a defensive lapse they attacked again. An identical move ensued as Rajwinder Singh scored after grabbing a cross from the left with Baljeet Singh out of position.

Pushing their state rivals on to the back foot, the PSB players stamped their authority over the game, but only till half-time.

Punjab Police regrouped in the second session. Amit Singh brought them back into the game scoring via a penalty corner. Three minutes later, they restored parity when a desperate Jagbir Singh sounded the board following a long ball from the centre.

PSB were taken by surprise with the sudden offensive and went into a defensive shell. They tried their best to turn things around but the result remained unchanged till the end of regulation time.

undefinedEven 15 minutes of extra time failed to produce a winner. However, towards the fag end, a PSB goal via a free-hit was disallowed by the umpires.

And when both the captains complained of bad light for the penalty shoot-out, match officials declared them joint winners.

However, both the captains were disappointed with the result.

While PSB captain Mandeep Singh said that an early start to the match could have been a better idea, his counterpart Kanwalpreet Singh said: “This was a good match. It should have produced a result.”

Meanwhile, Bengal Hockey Association secretary Gurbux Singh said: “Every other match was held at this time only and all had results… The players themselves wasted some crucial ten minutes when the umpires disallowed the goal (in the extra time)… Had they done that the match would’ve been over by time.”

Balwant Singh of Punjab Police grabbed the best player of the tournament award and the East Coast Railway team won the Fair Play Trophy.

What the Papers Say Today - Stick2Hockey.com

Sandeep named captain

By Harpreet Kaur Lamba

New Delhi Jan. 9: Drag-flicker Sandeep Singh on Friday was handed the reins of Indian hockey, the ad-hoc committee naming the 23-year old as captain of the national team.

Preparing for their first major international sojourn after the disastrous Chile qualifiers in March last year, Sandeep will captain the team in the four-match test series against Argentina beginning January 18 and the four-nation Gold Cup in Chandigarh later this month.

Raring to find their feet in international hockey after a forgettable year, the onus will be on the youngster to shepherd the team through this rebuilding phase.

Said Sandeep from Bhopal, "The coaches have shown immense faith in me, and this is my biggest reward. There was a time when I was not even been part of the team. I understand these are difficult times for Indian hockey. I will give my all to fulfill the responsibility."

Though the ad-hoc committee maintains that the decision "has been taken considering the youth factor and with an eye on the upcoming 2010 Commonwealth and World Cup", insiders suggest that a change (in the captaincy) was very much on the cards after the growing discord between India’s long-term captain Dilip Tirkey and coach-in-charge Harendra Singh.

A number of names did the rounds before the selection committee, along with the coaches, finalised that of Sandeep for the job.

Said selection committee member Dhanraj Pillay, "Dilip Tirkey, Prabodh Tirkey, Deepak Thakur, Tushar Khandker, Rajpal Singh were the other names considered."

Asked if this was a unanimous decision, the four-time Olympian had an interesting reply, "Ajitpal is the head of the committee. I am in no way suggesting that he was the only one to decide, but when I become the head of the committee (as part of ad-hoc committee’s rotation policy), I will be the king."

Though Sandeep has been the mainstay of the team in the last few years, his elevation to captaincy doesn’t come without doubts. The 23-year old has been India’s best bet in the drag-flick, but has been under the scanner for his poor defensive skills. Interestingly, the Shahbad lad cooled his heels for much of 2008 as the then-coach Joaquim Carvalho refused to include him in the team on "disciplinary grounds".

Said Harendra, "Sandeep is a proven match-winner and every team needs a statesman. He fits the bill for me. He can easily carry on as a player till the 2012 Olympic Games." Harendra added said that the decision on the captaincy was not a "long-term" one. "Sandeep will captain in these events, while we will groom 2-3 other youngsters side by side."

So does that rule out the 29-year old Dilip Tirkey’s chances? Harendra said, "Why did people not raise this question when Dhanraj was removed from captaincy after playing four Olympic Games? Dilip has already given a statement in the press saying that he will only like to be the mentor of the team, and help groom the youngsters."

Dilip, who last captained the side in the 2006 World Cup in Monchengladbach, refused to comment.

The Asian Age

Sandeep Singh named captain of senior hockey team

NEW DELHI: Drag-flicker Sandeep Singh has been named captain for the forthcoming Test hockey series against Argentina and the four-nation Punjab Gold Cup in Chandigarh from January 31 to February 9.

Veteran Dilip Tirkey was also called backed in the 18-member squad for the two tournaments.

The Indian team will travel to Argentina for four Tests to be played on January 18, 19, 21, and 22. Harendra Singh will be the coach in-charge for the tour.

The other teams taking part in the Punjab Gold Cup tournament are Olympic champions Germany, Holland and New Zealand.

Squad:

Adrian D'Souza, Dilip Tirkey, V Raghunath, Sandeep Singh, Prabodh Tirkey, Prabhjot Singh, Deepak Thakur, Sarvanjit Singh, Gurbaj Singh, Tushar Khandekar, Rajpal Singh, Baljit Singh, Hari Prasad, Shivendra Singh, Ravi Pal, Vikas Pillay, VS Vinay, Bharat.

The Times of India

USA Field Hocke Women's national team host Netherlands in Chula Vista

January 7, 2008 - The USA Field Hockey Women's National Team will host the Netherlands for a five game series at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA. The series will run from January 19 through January 26.

The Netherlands, gold medalists at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, are currently the number one ranked female team in the world. Midfielder Maartje Paumen was recently named World Hockey Young Women's Player in the World; Naomi van As, Minke Booij, Janneke Schopman and Paumen were all named to the World Hockey 2008 All Star Team.

USA/Netherlands Series Schedule:

Monday, January 19 - 3:00 pm
Tuesday, January 20 - 3:00 pm
Thursday, January 22 - 3:00 pm
Sunday, January 25 - 1:00 pm
Monday, January 26 - 3:00 pm

All times are Pacific Time.

Netherlands Team Roster

USFHA media release

Bad day for 'Army' in Ventures hockey

The Defence Force were on the receiving end of two thrashings yesterday, the third day of the Ventures Invitational Indoor Hockey Tournament at the Woodbrook Youth Facility yesterday.

First, the army/coast guard women were humbled 18-1 by the rampant Carib Magnolias, led by Stacey Siu Butt. Then visiting Men's Group B team, Everest Hikers of Guyana, thumped 11 past the Army men for an 11-1 win.

Siu Butt lashed in five goals, including three in the first half. The match resumed after the half-time break with Defence Force trailing 9-0, including a Gail-Ann Nieves 18thminute double. Mika Ella Tang also hit four into the Defence Force net, while Nieves got two more and Michelle Leotaud also doubled up for Magnolias. Gilla Marquez had the other item. Charlene Williams had the lone goal for the Defence Force women.

Hikers, with four goals from Robert  France, two each from Jerazano Bell, Alex Gouveia and Devin Monroe, and one from Ryan Cowie, got the better of Defence Force men easily. Neil Lashley scored the soldiers only goal in the 32nd minute.

Yesterday's Results: Men·s Group A

Stag Malvern 3 (Albert Marcano 29th, Colin Byron 27th, Damian Gordon 20th) vs Ontario United I Â 9 (Jonathan Roberts 8th, 14th, 29th, 36th; Micah Texeira 14th, 28th, 31st; Jeewan Singh-Gill 23rd, 24th)

Men's Group B

Paragon 4 (Akim Toussaint 10th 18th, 25, Kiel Murray 16th, ) vs Corona Fatima 3 (Andrew Vieira 6th, Dev Lumkit 11th, Allan 23rd)

Women's

Defence Force 1 (Charlene Williams 32nd) vs Carib Magnolias 18 (Mika Ella Tang 2nd, 3rd, 24th, 40th; Kristi-Anne Chin 2nd, 22nd; Stacey Siu Butt 4th, 15th, 20th, 28th, 37th; Gail Ann Nieves 18th, 18th, 26th, 31st; Michelle Leotaud, 25th, 36th; Gilla Marquez 10th)

Veterans

Malvern 4 (Albert Marcano 5th, 24th, 24th, 30th) vs Queen's Park 7 (Raphael Govia 6th, 19th; Gary Chin 9th; Paul Weekes 15th, 20th Azad Ali 18th)

Men's Group A

Old Fort 5 (Chris Low-Koon 17th, Jason Da Santos 20th, 22nd; Tony Cole 30th; Kevin Spencer 36th) vs Shape 3 (Nahum Reynos 3rd, 18th, 37th)

Men's Group B

Defence Force 1 (Neil Lashley 32nd) vs Everest Hikers 11 (Robert France 1st, 19th, 22nd, 30th Jerazeno Bell 8th, 26th, Alex Gouveia 17th, 32nd Devin Monroe 21st, 39th, Ryan Cowie 31st)

Ontario United II 4 (Arminder Singh Gill, Jozef Ceradrowski, Bickram Singh Kandola, Luke Govia) vs Pterotrin 8 (Wayne Legerton 5, Atiba Whittington 2, Solomon Eccles)

Veterans

Notre Dame 0 vs Rosa dos Ventos 5 (Rosa dos Ventos won by default)

Queen's Park  11 (Raphael Govia 5th, Darren Cowie 7th, 34th, 34th, 35th, Dominic Young 20th, 21st, 23rd, 24th, 37th, 38th) vs Shape 2 (Shaquille Edwards 5th, Nahum 32nd)

The Trinidad & Tobago Express

Mags hammer Defence Force

CLYDEEN MC DONALD

Carib Magnolias player Mika Ella Tang slots the ball past Notre Dame goalkeeper Beverly Benjamin at the seventh annual Ventures Hockey Club International Indoor Hockey Tournament at the Woodbrook Youth Facility on Thursday. PHOTO: ANTHONY HARRIS

Carib Magnolias smashed 18 goals past Defence Force as they remained on course to retain their title at the seventh annual Ventures International Indoor Hockey Tournament at the Woodbrook Youth Facility yesterday.

Captain Stacey Siu Butt led the rout for Mags with five goals in the 18-1 win. Mike Ella Tang also assisted in the demolition of the Tretron girls, scoring four while Christine Chin, Gayle Ann Nieves and Tracy Lee scored two each. The lone item for the Army came from Sharlene Williams in the 32nd minute of play.

Foreigners Ontario United also continued in their winning ways, defeating Stag Malvern by a 9-3 margin in Men’s Group A. Jonathan Roberts continued his good form with four goals for Ontario while Micah Teixeira (three) and Jeewan Singh Gill (two). The tournament will continue today with 16 matches taking place in all the divisions from 9 am.

Other Results

Paragon bt Corona Fatima 4-3
QPCC bt Stag Malvern 6-4
Old Fort bt Shape 5-3

Thursday Late Results
Men’s
Everest Hikers bt Ontario United 10 -6
Notre Dame bt Shape 13-1
Paragon bt Ontario United 2 9-6
Petrotrin draw Corona Fatima 5-5
QPCC bt Old Fort 7-5
Everest Hikers draw Petrotrin 5-5

Vets
QPCC bt Defence Force 3-2
Corona Fatima bt Notre Dame 7-0
Stag Malvern bt Notre Dame 7-2
Rosa Dos Ventos bt Defence Force 6-2

Women
Paragon bt Defence Force 8-1

The Trinidad Guardian

Siu Butt nets hat-trick

CLYDEEN MC DONALD

National Captain Stacey Siu Butt kept Carib Magnolias on course to retain their title at the seventh annual Ventures Hockey Club International Indoor Hockey Tournament at the Woodbrook Youth Facility yesterday. Siu Butt netted three goals to help her team gain a 7-4 victory over host club Ventures in a tough match.

Michelle Leotaud and Gayle Ann Nieves put Mags ahead in the game’s opening moments, scoring in the second and third minutes respectively. However, Ventures struck back with two goals from Kristin Abreu in the fifth and 16th minutes. The balance was tipped back into the Mags’ favour when captain Siu Butt netted goals in the 16th and 20th minutes. Ventures came out with determination in the second half with Arielle Cowie scoring in the 25th minute. However, Magnolias’ Alicia Waithe (30th), Mika Ella Tang (35th) and Siu Butt (39th) opened the lead.

In other matches, the visiting Ontario United romped to a 13-0 victory over the Shape in their Men’s Group A match-up. Led by seven goalsfrom Jonathan Roberts United dominated a hapless Shape from beginning to end. Roberts got scoring assistance from Devohn Teixeira (31,32), Sean Barretto (6) and Jeewan Singh Gill (15). The tournament will continue today with 16 matches taking place in all the divisions from 9 am.

Day two scores

Vets
Rosa Dos Ventos Bt Stag Malvern 7-5
Day one late scores
Men Group A
Notre Dame Bt Stag Malvern 10-5

Men Group B
Corona Fatima Bt Defence Force 3-2

Vets
Defence Force Bt Stag Malvern 6-4
Corona Fatima Bt QPCC 6-5

Women
Ventures Bt Paragon 8-5
Notre Dame Bt Defence Force 4-2

The Trinidad Guardian

Forget egos, focus on saving the game

Jugjet Singh

THE 'new' Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) is only two months old and acted its age when it made a serious boo-boo in the coaching department.

Dr Balbir Singh has been appointed as the coaching committee chairman, and will hold his first meeting with representatives from MHF's affiliates today.

But amazingly, the list of coaches for the seniors, junior and under-16 teams were released by MHF deputy president Nur Azmi Ahmad on Dec 28, after the Malaysia Hockey League final.

The only spots left for the coaching committee to fill today are for the National B team.

In other words, the coaching committee has been turned into a rubber-stamp.

The correct procedure is for the coaching committee to recommend names and for the MHF council to endorse or reject.

This 'cart before the horse situation' could turn sticky today, if the state affiliates do not agree with coaches named by the deputy president.

Tai Beng Hai is the caretaker seniors coach and Nur Saiful Zaini his assistant until a foreign coach is hired, preferably by mid-January. George Koshy was named team manager.

As for the juniors, K. Rajan was named as coach while Bob Rajendran, Lailin Abu Hassan and Nur Saiful Azli are his assistants. The team manager is Johari AbdulAziz.

K. Dharmaraj was named the Under-16 coach, while his assistants are M. Gobinathan and Azlan Bakar and the team manager Mirnawan Nawawi.

When Dr Balbir was asked about this sticky situation, he said that the reverse was done because coaches were urgently needed, and he hoped that the states will be understanding enough to close ranks on the matter.

But already, fingers are being pointed at several personalities who are said to have lobbied and placed their men, and this could turn into a situation where closing ranks may be impossible.

So hastily were the appointments announced that the qualification of the coaches were also not checked at all, and will only be scrutinised today.

One understands that there is an urgent need for replacement coaches after Sarjit Singh, Gurmit Singh and Shahid Ali Khan's contracts were not renewed but in its haste, the MHF forgot to consult their most valuable "asset" -- the states.

One state affiliate said the meeting could turn ugly, as he feels his candidates have more experience and better credentials but were not even considered.

But it shouldn't turn into a finger pointing and chest thumping exercise as, though procedure was not followed, the affiliates must remember that Malaysian hockey is in dire straits.

The national team ranked 15th in the world, will be playing in the third-tier Champions Challenge II and need all the help they can get.

The coaches and managers have been named and rather than rocking the boat, the affiliates must pledge their support and help take hockey out of the woods.

New Straits Times

The competitive atmosphere is very important

On the eve of Under-21 team's departure to Australia to take part in the Australian Youth Olympics, coach AK Bansal gives importance to the competitive atmosphere expected Sydney rather than mere participation.

"Indian Junior had played Argentina in the recent past, and in the beginning of the year against British and Australian teams in Kuala Lumpur. Therefore, I feel more than the competition, the atmosphere is very important in the sense that there will be many more people watching the matches in Sydney as this a multi-sport event, and a good crowd is expected", he said a day before the team is scheduled leave for Australia.

The has left India today (Friday) morning.

Great Britain, Australia and Malaysia are in the fray, besides India

Of late, Indian women team has also agreed to take part in the event, will be flying in the two days time.

The ad-hoc committee has nearly retained the same squad that visited Argentina early last month, and the present visit is yet another effort to give the boys maximum exposure before the target tournament -- Junior World Cup in June this year.

"Playing against empty stands is one thing, and performing against full stands is another", Bansal elaborated. "My boys have to be tough and should not be over-awed by the occasion. Sydney presents them an ideal opportunity to play under heavy pressure and British and Australian teams will have the backing of the local support".

Indian juniors last played Australia in the early 2008 in the KL Invitation tournaments. India defeated Australia in the league, before losing the final by the thinnest of margins. Accordingly to Bansal, Australia will be eying the Gold, and British will give both India and Australia a tough time.

The tournament will take place between 14 and 18.

Stick2Hockey.com

State meet from Jan. 30

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The 54th State senior hockey championships for men will be held at the Thalassery Municipal stadium from January 30 to February 2.

Fifteen teams including defending champion SAI (Kollam) and last year’s runner-up Thrissur will take part in the tournament.

The tournament will be played on a league-cum-knock out format. The teams have been divided into four groups and group winner will qualify for the semifinal.

The semifinals will be played on February 1 and the final on February 2.

The groupings:

Pool ‘A’: SAI, Palakkad and Malappuram.

Pool ‘B’: Kollam, Kannur, Alappuzha and Idukki.

Pool ‘C’: Thiruvananthapuram, Wayanad, Ernakulam and Pathanamthitta.

Pool ‘D’: Thrissur, Kozhikode, Kasaragod and Kottayam.

The Hindu

Pakistan considering hockey games against India on neutral soil

KARACHI: Pakistan's hockey officials are considering inviting India for a Test series on an offshore venue later this year.

Qasim Zia, the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) president, said on Friday that the PHF has discussed the idea of playing matches on neutral venues with India and other major hockey-playing nations in a bid to revive Pakistan hockey.

"Our options are open," said Zia, a former hockey Olympian who is currently a central leader of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). "We want to revive Pakistan hockey and would not mind if the matches are arranged on neutral soil against top hockey teams, including India."

Pakistan and India have suspended sporting ties because of strained relations between the two governments over November's terror attacks in Mumbai that left over 170 people killed.

Pakistan pulled out its team from a four-nation hockey tournament hosted by India from January 31 to February 9 in Chandigarh after India blocked its cricket team's tour of Pakistan. Pakistan also decided against sending its squash team for the Asian Junior Squash Championships to be played in Chennai later this month.

But Zia said those decisions were taken by the government and not the sport authorities.

"We have no problems playing with India on some neutral venue," he said adding that hockey can be revived in the region with more matches between the two counties - once regarded as the powerhouses of the game at the world level.

Zia said the PHF has various neutral venues like Dubai in mind. Pakistan has not hosted a major hockey team since the 2004 Champions Trophy in Lahore as leading sides have stayed away from the country because of security apprehensions.

The Times of India

Make cricket national sport: Claudius

By Sayak Banerjee

KOLKATA Jan. 9: Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi’s suggestion to strip hockey of its ‘national game’ status was harshly criticised by almost every Olympian, past or present.

But India’s youngest ever cricket captain drew unexpected support from none other than Leslie Walter Claudius — a hockey legend himself.

The man who guided India to three consecutive Olympic golds — London 1948, Helsinki 1952 and Melbourne 1956, and a silver four years later in Rome — spoke of the "newer heights" scaled by Indian cricket, in comparison to hockey which was looking down the barrel.

"Indian cricket is booming at the moment. Look at its achievements in the last few years. A game which is on a high and is prospering each day was proposed as the country’s national game. I don’t see anything wrong in it.

"Hockey, at this point of time, is in the doldrums. It doesn’t even has a proper federation and is being run by some ad-hoc committee or whatever.

"Absence of the right people in the right places together with corruption have ruined the game," Claudius told this newspaper on the sidelines of the Beighton Cup final at the SAI complex ground on Friday.

"It is being said that very few countries play cricket. But what was the case during our time?

"There were only Holland and Germany as competitive sides besides Pakistan. Others were only rubbish," he added.

The legend was severely critical of the ‘glamorous’ Premier Hockey League, popularly known as PHL that was scrapped after 2007, saying it was nothing but "good television coverage".

"No doubt, the PHL was very well televised. But these tournaments are nothing but a farce as their contribution to the game is zero. With cheerleaders and all those stuff, it looked more like a drama than hockey. Focus should be on infrastructure rather than these farcical events," he said.

The Asian Age