New Delhi, January 05: Confusion reigns supreme as to what led to the cancellation of the four-nation tournament in the capital but it now appears that the International Hockey Federation denied a go-ahead for the event because it had apprehensions about the preparedness of the National Stadium.
In his e-mail to Hockey India officials in which he explained why the world body did not give permission for the event, FIH Umpires Development Manager Richard Wilson said they had concerns about the venue.
“At the moment we are reluctant to grant approval, since it is not clear to us whether there will be a pitch ready to play the tournament on and whether the other associated facilities (such as pitch watering, goals/nets, changing rooms and other infrastructure) will be in place in time,” Wilson said.
–Agencies