Ind vs Pak: Ministry chooses CT final over HWL semis

New Delhi : Everyone’s excited for Sunday. Cricket frenzy has gripped the nation ahead of the mouth-watering Champions Trophy final between India and Pakistan at The Oval in London. Cricket lovers, sponsors, advertisers and broadcasters have gone completely crazy and so, is the Sports Ministry. All want to make hay on cricket’s popularity. On the same day, not far away from The Oval, another equally passionate bunch of players from India and Pakistan would engage in a fierce Hockey World League (HWL) semifinal. It’s a ‘Super Sunday’ and the Sports Ministry wants to project itself as a great sports lover.
It has installed giant LED screens at the Major Dhyanchand National Stadium for free public viewing of the Champions Trophy final. What, LED screens for a cricket final? Don’t be surprised, you read it right. But, isn’t the Dhyanchand stadium synonymous to hockey, named after the game’s legend? Isn’t hockey our national game and an Olympic sport? Isn’t an India-Pakistan hockey contest equally important? Doesn’t the BCCI, the cricket’s governing body in the country, consider itself a private body and doesn’t it give a damn to the Ministry’s efforts to bring it under the National Sports Code?
Former hockey players are not amused at the Ministry’s decision. However, they certainly had one question — What is the need to promote and popularise cricket when it already enjoys huge public following?
“I am feeling really sad about it. The stadium is named after my father and the Ministry is showing cricket there. This is unacceptable. This shows how much they care about the game of hockey? For them, cricket is a priority when the BCCI doesn’t even care about their policies. They could have chosen the central park at the Connaught Place or the Ferozeshah Kotla Stadium if the idea was really to involve the public,” said Ashok Kumar, Dhyanchand’s son. Another Olympian, Zafar Iqbal, said: “The government should look after other sports as well, not just cricket. It doesn’t need any promotion. Everyone wants to gain from cricket’s popularity. Why’s the Ministry promoting cricket? Isn’t hockey their priority, being an Olympic sport? Dhyanchand Stadium is for hockey, and better it remains so for the purpose.”
The Sports Ministry spent Rs 3.5 lakh on advertising the event where Minister Vijay Goel inaugurated “the mega LED screens at the National Stadium”. The LED screens were installed on June 13 for the two Champions Trophy semifinals and the final.