THE new synthetic surface laid out in Karachi at the Hockey Club of Pakistan is an act of great significance as far as the citizens of this ill-fated city are concerned. While life continues at its normal pace in cities around the world that are much more prone to violence and terrorism, life in Karachi unfortunately is seriously affected even though there is no specific reason.
It goes to the credit of Pakistan Hockey Federation that by arranging a triangular series in Karachi, it has taken a major step towards rehabilitating normal life in the city and has dispelled the wrong impression in the eyes of the foreigners. It was not just the Malaysian team that was here, also present were a handful foreign officials in the shape of German Paul Lissek, who was here as the coach of the Malaysian side, Oltmens, the Dutch coach of the Pakistan side and other officials that are now part of the national entourage.
While the city of Karachi was an indirect beneficiary of the triangular, the Hockey Club of Pakistan stadium was a direct beneficiary where an international event was held after almost five years, if not more. For this, the citizens of Karachi should be grateful to the Prime Minister, Mir Zafarullah Jamali, who is a known follower of the game, and has fulfilled his promise of ensuring better playing facilities across the country.
The Hockey Club used to be the major centre of national activity and the citizens of the city have happy memories of a string of great matches that were held here in the years gone by. It was a matter of great heartburn that once the initial turf completed its lifespan, an immediate replacement was not considered by those running the show at the time. The result was that the city was deprived of any major hockey activity, which was disgusting, to say the least.
I have mentioned more than once in these columns that major hockey nations, like Holland, Germany and Australia, have synthetic turfs by the hundreds. In Holland alone, there are close to four hundred of them. They have their own version of these synthetic surfaces called the Desoturfs, as against the Astroturfs, which is an American brand. Another synthetic turf that is making its mark in the world is called the Koni, which is produced by a South Korean manufacturer. The one laid out at the Hockey Club of Pakistan, though, is the German variety, Polygrass, which plays a little faster than the other three.
I have personally tried out the new surface, and I believe that while a little more care while spreading it out would have done a world of good, the surface even in its present shape, is not bad, as the bounce is good, and the flow of the ball is smooth. I also discussed the surface with German coach Lissek, and he shared my view that if an effort is made to re-do the layout, it will cause more problems than the problems that such an effort will try to resolve. So, it is better to leave it alone, and keep making good use of the surface.
THE new synthetic surface laid out in Karachi at the Hockey Club of Pakistan is an act of great significance as far as the citizens of this ill-fated city are concerned. While life continues at its normal pace in cities around the world that are much more prone to violence and terrorism, life in Karachi unfortunately is seriously affected even though there is no specific reason.
