Six matches & 73 goals, hockey loses charm

Deepankar Sharda

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 8 

Apart from the lesser participation of teams, just five out of nearly 100 affiliated colleges, the unusually high number of goals scored in the Panjab University Inter-College Hockey Championship is a pointer to the overall falling standards of the tournament. 

As many as 73 goals were scored in just six league matches, showing the lopsided contests in the tournament. On an average, nearly 12 goals were scored per match in the league stage of the tournament, which was concluded recently at the synthetic turf of the Panjab University Campus.

In a shocker Govind National College, Narangwal, conceded a whopping 27 goals against GHG Khalsa College, Gurusar Sadhar, in their match. Sri Guru Gobind Singh College, Sector 26, routed the Panjab University Campus team by 12 goals and registered a 19-1 win against the Narangwal boys. 

Earlier, Sri Guru Gobind Singh College, Sector 26, played out a 2-2 draw against GHG boys, while Panjab University Campus defeated Govind College 2-1. In the last league match, Gurusar Sadhar College were leading by seven goals against the Panjab University Campus team when play was stopped before the stipulated time. 

Notably, eight teams had confirmed their entries but only five turned up. Out of the five, two teams were from Chandigarh while the other three were from Punjab. Interestingly, the organisers have also selected the probable squad for the North-Zone Inter-University Hockey Championship from these five colleges only. 

PU has more than 198 affiliated units, including B.Ed and evening colleges, and more than 100 are co-ed colleges.

“It is sad to see the state of affairs of hockey in this region. Less participation is a cause of concern and it needs to be solved immediately. The level of competition too needs to improve. The authorities should take immediate steps to improve the level of game in the colleges,” said a coach. 

“Even rural tournaments have more teams than the inter-college tournament here,” he added. Sources said the organisers have shortlisted the probable squad following their own quota system. 

“The teams which scored the maximum number of goals have managed to get their players selected for the North-Zone Inter-University Hockey Championship. The authorities should have conducted an open trial and the three college teams which failed to turn up should be penalised," said another coach. 

The Panjab University Directorate of Sports officials were unavailable for their comments on the issue.

Number of goals in league stage  

• Govind National College, Narangwal, conceded 27 goals against GHG Khalsa College, Gurusar Sadhar. Sri Guru Gobind Singh College, Sector 26, played a 2-2 draw against GHG boys, while Panjab University (PU) Campus defeated Govind College 2-1.SGGS boys routed the campus team by 12 goals, followed by a 19-1 win against Narangwal boys. In the last league match, Gurusar Sadhar College were leading by seven goals against PU Campus, when the play was stopped before stipulated time.PU has more than 198 affiliated units (including B.Ed, evening colleges), and over 100 are co-ed colleges. However, only five teams participated.