Revive club culture, improve training in hockey: Pandya

Thrissur, kerela:

Consultant to Indian Olympic Association Arun K Pandya on Wednesday stressed the need for revival of the club culture for regaining the lost glory of hockey in India.

Pandya, one of the founder directors of the Sports Authority of India (SAI), told reporters here that Indian hockey had its best days even before Independence and afterwards also.

Indian hockey had its golden days when it was played on grass turf. Hockey being a game of speed and skill, the Indian players could not cope with the speed required for synthetic ground as the ground was changed from grass to synthetic.

Another reason for the poor performance of the Indian hockey players was disappearance of club culture of hockey in the country, Pandya said.

He said that club culture facilitated grooming of players by different clubs amid stiff competition.

Answering a query, he emphasized the need for improving training and the selection process.