By Qaiser Mohammad Ali, IANS
New Delhi : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Wednesday instructed India’s top sports officials to “immediately install floodlights” at the venue where the hockey team will train for the 2008 Olympic qualifying tournament.
Singh gave the order when coach of the Indian hockey team Joaquim Carvalho pointed out the lack of floodlights at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre near Bangalore, where the team starts a month-long preparatory camp Monday.
“When he asked us about the team’s training for the Olympics, I pointed out to him that floodlights were lacking at the ground where the team will train,” Carvalho told IANS after the Asia Cup-wining team’s reception by the prime minister.
“He asked the SAI director-general (R.P. Watal) and the secretary, sports, (S.K. Arora), who were present at the reception, to have the floodlights installed immediately,” said Carvalho, a former India player.
India will play a six-nation qualifying tournament in Santiago, Chile, March 1-9 — their last chance to make it to the Beijing Olympics Games next August. They will have to win the title to qualify.
Carvalho said Singh assured the players that they would definitely have the floodlight facility for training.
However, it is highly unlikely that floodlights will be installed before or during the camp, as so far there has been no written proposal, according to Shyam Sundar, SAI official in charge of the centre.
“When I joined here this January, there was talk about installing floodlights at the centre,” Sundar told IANS over telephone from Bangalore.
“But so far no written proposal has moved. The Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) will have to write to the SAI headquarters to initiate the move.”
With no proposal on paper, it looks impossible to complete the long procedure of installing spotlights soon.
Carvalho is, however, pinning his hopes on the prime minister, who hosted the reception for Prabodh Tirkey’s team for winning the Asia Cup in Chennai in September.
“It was a very good meeting. He asked us what was lacking in the team’s training, and we got a chance to point out those things,” he said.
“He assured us that his government would ensure that all facilities would be provided to the team for the Olympic preparations. He also wished the team luck for the qualifying tournament.”
Carvalho said the team presented him a composite hockey stick with signatures of the entire team.
Later in the day, the hockey team left for Agra for another reception hosted by actor-turned-politician Raj Babbar in the city of the Taj Mahal.
The team had met President Pratibha Patil Tuesday when she hosted a reception for it and the cricket team at Rashstrapati Bhawan.