By IANS,
New Delhi: After a meeting of the Co-ordination Commission of the Hero Honda World Cup, it was decided that media would be allowed access to the team’s practice sessions from Thursday.
Earlier, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) said in a statement that media access to the training of the World Cup hockey teams will not be allowed without the activation of the accreditation which is “expected” to come into effect only a day before the start of the event Feb 28.
But the situation was reviewed at the meeting of the Coordination Commission, under the chairmanship of Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi. Tournament director Ken Read along with security officials was also present at the meeting.
“After discussing issues related to media access to the National Stadium, the commission decided that media accreditations would be completed by Feb 24 so that the accredited media could attend an interaction with the teams during practice on Feb 25,” Hockey India (HI) secretary general Narinder Batra.
“Security arrangements were reviewed and the commission was happy with the robust on-ground arrangements to ensure that the World Cup would be played in a safe and secure environment,” the statement said.
After media persons took it up with Hockey India (HI) over the ban on coverage of practice sessions, federation officials requested the FIH to allow media access to the practice sessions and facilitate their meeting with the players of the participating countries.
The ban on the media coverage has seriously impacted the promotion of the tournament. Former internationals have also complained about the lack of information on the teams participating and were critical of the FIH and HI for handling such a mega event in such an unprofessional way.
The commission also reviewed the sale of tickets and was happy to note that there has been brisk sale.
Eight teams — Australia, South Africa, Pakistan, Korea, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Canada and Argentina — have reached India for the tournament.
Spain, Germany and England are the other teams that will arrive over the next couple of days.