To honour Punjab’s rich hockey legacy, special enclosure created for former hockey players’ kin
Reaching here for some business, the match-day hawkers were left disappointed as no spectator stopped at their roadside arrangement.
Reason: They had brought blue jerseys bearing the names of cricketers, which held little appeal for hockey enthusiasts flocking to the Olympian Surjit Singh Hockey Stadium to witness the historic Asian Champions Trophy matches.
While the grand ceremony scheduled for evening, the opening match of the Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) between China and Malaysia witnessed a vibrant crowd. The spectators, surprisingly, fought the peak of afternoon sun and enjoyed the stunning match, which ended in 5-4 in favour of Malaysia.
Observing the crowd, the hawkers were hoping
Observing the crowd, the hawkers were hoping to have a good business. However, ended up having long faces.
“People usually buy jerseys for the love of Indian cricketers, but we literally recorded no business here. The spectators coming here did ask us about the jerseys with names of hockey players, but we had nothing to offer,” said Anil, who was here from Vadodara.
One of his partners, Deepak Mondal, added, “We had planned to take some (sports) goods back home from Jalandhar, as it’s a bit cheaper here. However, the visit seems to be a waste. We didn’t expect such a dull response and, on reaching here, we realised that we could have brought jerseys of Indian hockey teams instead of the cricket team.”
He further added, Hopefully, by the time
He further added, “Hopefully, by the time the tournament reaches Mohali, we may have something to offer to the hockey fans.” A policeman standing nearby added, “They have no permission to sell these goods from the footpath. However, we still allowed them to carry their business, considering it a temporary arrangement. However, barring a few caps, they sold nothing.”
While vendors struggled to attract customers, the atmosphere inside the stadium was festive. A live band entertained spectators ahead of the opening ceremony, cheerleaders dressed in salwar suits added a local flavour, and loud music kept the crowd engaged throughout the match.
To honour Punjab’s rich hockey legacy, a special enclosure was created for the families of former hockey players who contributed to India’s success in the sport.
It was really good to bunk the college
“It was really good to bunk the college and enjoy the match here with my friends. Both (China-Malaysia) played exciting game and, unexpectedly, China fought back strongly in the first two quarters and even in the last minutes of the game. Their striker Chen Behai was excellent and Zhang Jialiang also did a great job,” said Arshpreet, a student from Kapurthala.
He was not the only one travelling here from another area, but the number of such fans was quite high. As the day progressed, the 7,000-capacity stadium was full to its capacity with people reaching here to enjoy two more matches between Japan-South Korea and India- Bangladesh. And, it will be exciting to see, if the fans turn up for next matches wearing the jerseys with hockey players’ name, which was missing on the opening day.
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Source: www.tribuneindia.com
