I came to know about the five match test series between India and Belgium, through my friend and decided to be a part of the spectating crowd at the stadium.. The matches are held at Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium, Egmore and the entry for it is absolutely free!!
It seems, this series is just a warm up series for the Indians before taking the qualifying match for the Olympics.. I was there at the stadium for the first two matches.. The first one ended in a Draw with each team scoring 4 goals .. At the end of the first half, we were at a comfortable position with a 3-0 lead.. But in the second half, Belgium made a real come back and made it a draw with 4-4..
The second match was really fascinating!! The first half ended with a 0-0 but the second half proved worth watching!! At the end of the play, India won it with a 5-0 lead!! Indians Rocked!!
But one thing disturbed me at the stadium.. The very sight of only half the stadium being filled showed the unpopularity of the game.. I also heard that the salary of a hockey player is just 25000 rs per match.. Adding to it, I read in the newspaper that, the players travelled from their hotel to the stadium, using Autorickshaws!!!! This proves really pathetic....
But on the whole, we guys had real fun watching those terrific moments of the game!! And my request to all, is not to miss such an opportunity!!!!
2 comments:
I share your view on this, this is total crap, even with free entry the stands don't get filled, compare this with the cricket match where fans stand in queues to grab tickets.
But then even we were part of the 'other' crowd till last week. So from now on we'll make it a point to attend all possible hockey matches ( at least as long as the entry remains free ).
You are absolutely right man, the most worrying thought is that no proper protection also for the players which we saw during the first match.
Guru said we have to be a part of the spectators atleast until the entry is free, but i feel that we should be a part of the supporting crowd even if the entry is charged after all this is our National Game......
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