The hockey blues

Change in colour of the AstroTurf for London 2012 has received mixed response.

KARACHI:


Green gives way to blue as the 2012 Olympic Games approach.


Seeking attention of the crowd and improving visibility prompted the International Hockey Federation (FIH) to change the colour of the AstroTurf from green to blue while ensuring there is enough pink to be wrapped around it.

As other sports seek constant changes and improvement in conditions to make it more appealing for the viewers, the FIH also opted to break away from the norms and revamp the very basis of the sport. According to Pakistan’s Sohail Abbas it is a refreshing change which looks set to puzzle a few.

“Playing on a blue turf instead of green will be like switching from black-and-white television to a coloured one,” said world-record-holder Abbas who, with 313 goals to his name, feels excited, terming the switch a ‘creative way of attracting people towards the sport’.

He added that the colour remained a non-factor as far as the performance was concerned and it was infact the texture and the material of the field that mattered more.

“Sports that are commercially successful will survive in the coming years. It’s a requirement for hockey to change and find ways to grab attention. In Pakistan, it will surprise people because our national sport has always been played on green but will now have a blue look.”


The FIH, in collaboration with the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games, came up with the concept after they had successfully held the 2010 Indoor Hockey World Cup on blue floor.

“We did it to freshen up the sport and the Olympic is a good platform to do so,” said Jenny Weideke, an FIH official. “We haven’t received any objections so we’re going ahead with it. The blue AstroTurf has been used in Australia and at tournaments in Europe. It is pleasant to look at and the contrast between white and blue is stronger than white and green so it improves ball visibility.”

However, not everyone is as open to the idea with the 2010 Asian Games-winning captain Zeeshan Ashraf apprehensive about the change.

“I have never seen a blue AstroTurf, it’s something I’ve have to reprogram myself for,” said Ashraf. “If the FIH had to introduce the change, they could’ve done it in a tournament not as big as the Olympics.”

Ashraf’s apprehension springs from the fact that there is no blue turf available in Pakistan and the squad will need time to get accustomed to the colour which, he said, is ‘not natural’ to look at. The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has supported the decision and its secretary Asif Bajwa has urged the Pakistan Sports Board to set up a blue AstroTurf in Pakistan before the Games.

Meanwhile, Olympian Shahnaz Sheikh said that the FIH’s decision will only burden the south Asian countries as even a standard green turf is rarely available to local players due to lack of funds.

“The FIH shouldn’t change the colour just because its pleasant to loot at,” he said. “It won’t affect the players’ conduct on the field and won’t help the format either. It’s a weak move to get some attention which wouldn’t last for long.”

Published in The Express Tribune, April 27th, 2011.
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