By IANS
Agra : A group of citizens here is getting ready to honour the Indian hockey team and bring the national game back in the limelight.
The city of the Taj Mahal is gearing up for a grand welcome to the Indian hockey team, which arrives here Oct 31 on an invitation from Citizens of Agra, a group formed by prominent citizens.
The group — supported by local NGOs, business chambers, political groups and dozens of schools and colleges — aims to “undo the injustice done to this beautiful game which has suffered a lot because of the popularity of cricket”.
The group has planned a grand celebration and the team will be publicly felicitated at the St. John’s College grounds here.
“Till the 31st there will only be hockey and we are determined to tilt the balance in favour of hockey. The Indian hockey team will receive such a welcome that even the cricketers will envy it,” Harvijay Singh Bahia, a popular sportsperson of the city, told IANS.
Even the cricket players of the city have joined the campaign to support the game that has won the highest honours at the Olympic eight times for the country.
The team will arrive in a special luxury coach from New Delhi, immediately after their trip abroad. Dozens of welcome arches and gates are being readied on the main MG Road.
“There will be no end to banners and hoardings welcoming the hockey players,” says a member of the organising committee.
“Special flags with ‘Chak de India’ symbol, buntings and stickers are all over the place. Scores of public schools are supporting the event, which will be the biggest and the most spectacular sports show in the city,” says Bahia.
More than 250 hockey players from rural areas will receive hockey sticks and uniforms from the Indian team players in a bid to popularise the game.