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Delay in turf completion forces Hockey India to shift camp

It is learnt that the top brass of Hockey India (HI) wanted to keep the camp commencing from September 5 at the SAI Centre in Bengaluru. But the centre's inability to finish work on the newly-laid green turf in time has forced them to keep it in the Capital.

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Roelant Oltmans says he would’ve preferred to train in Bengaluru
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A delay of about seven days in the completion of a turf in the Sports Authority of India (SAI) Centre in Bengaluru has forced the national men's hockey camp to be shifted to New Delhi.

It is learnt that the top brass of Hockey India (HI) wanted to keep the camp commencing from September 5 at the SAI Centre in Bengaluru. But the centre's inability to finish work on the newly-laid green turf in time has forced them to keep it in the Capital.

The SAI officials had, earlier this year, decided to lay two new artificial turfs – a green and a blue — in its centre. The green turf, which replicates the one used at last year's FIH World Cup in the The Netherlands, was initially supposed to be completed by June. It overshot the deadline, and is now expected to be completed by the second week of September. HI refused to postpone its camp by a week, and instead chose to make do with the turf at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium.

"We were told that the turf would be completed and ready to use only by September 11 or 12," HI president Narinder Batra said. "There was no way I would've postponed the camp. Thus, I had no option but to keep it in New Delhi."

Roelant Oltmans, HI's high-performance director and head coach of the men's team, admitted that they would've preferred to keep the camp in Bengaluru, as the conditions there are more suited for the team to train in the build-up to the 2016 Rio Olympics.

"We would've preferred Bengaluru because you don't have to worry about the travel time. That time can be used for different aspects like training sessions or fitness or team building. We like to go to Bengaluru, and it would've been ideal if we were there," Oltmans said. The SAI Centre is in the outskirts of Bengaluru, and the team is put up in the vicinity itself.

The Dutchman added that the overall environment was not conducive to holding a camp there yet.

"Look, the pitch is not completely ready, and the same goes with the sprinklers. The pitch has been laid down, but I'm not sure if the whole environment is ready to hold a camp. It's also about the medical facilities, strength and conditioning facilities, testing facilities, the meeting rooms, all that kind of things are important for us," Oltmans said.

BLUE TURF UNLIKELY TO BE READY SOON

The completion of the blue turf, which will be similar to the one that will be used in the 2016 Rio Olympics, is also almost certain to be delayed. While the deadline for that was set for October, it is unlikely that it will be ready to use before the start of next year.

"They are planning to put the blue one down there from October," Oltmans said. "I think October will be quick, to be honest. I don't know exactly the dates that they can start. It depends on a lot of things. I expect us to start training on it after Hockey India League (January-February 2016)."

It would mean that the team will have about five months to get used to that kind of turf before the all-important Games begin in August.

Meanwhile, it is learnt that the team will tour New Zealand for a six-match test series at the end of September, pending final clearance from HI.

Squad: PR Sreejesh, Harjot Singh, Akash Chikte, Birender Lakra, Kothajit Singh, VR Raghunath, Jasjit Singh Kular, Rupinder Pal Singh, Gurjinder Singh, Pardeep Mor, Sardar Singh, Chinglensana Singh, SK Uthappa, Satbir Singh, Danish Mujtaba, Devinder Walmiki, Manpreet Singh, Dharamvir Singh, SV Sunil, Ramandeep Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Mandeep Singh, Talwinder Singh, Lalit Upadhyay, Mohd. Amir Khan, Nikkin Thimmaiah

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