The Nilgiris: The Nilgiris hockey team which won the second place in the recently held Under-14 sub-junior National Hockey Tournament was given an enthusiastic reception complete with band music at Coonoor, today.
The Nilgiris: The Nilgiris hockey team which won the second place in the recently held Under-14 sub-junior National Hockey Tournament was given an enthusiastic reception complete with band music at Coonoor, today.
The Under-14 30th K D Singh Babu hockey tournament was held in Lucknow from January 24 to February 2. About 16 teams including three teams from Tamil Nadu, Assam, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana participated in the tournament. In the knock-out matches, the Nilgiris hockey team from Tamil Nadu won all the matches and reached the finals, but were defeated by the UP team, thus relegated to second place.
The tournament has been a regular event for the past 30 years but it is the first time that a team from Tamil Nadu has won a place in the tournament. An enthusiastic reception with band music greeted the Nilgiris hockey team, arranged for by the Nilgiri District Hockey Association and the public in Coonoor. School students welcomed the team members by garlanding them and offering bouquets.
They took the team in a procession from the Coonoor Level Crossing to Mount Road. Anantha Krishnan, the President of the Nilgiris District Hockey Association said that appeals had been made to the Government to provide an artificial hockey turf in Nilgiris. "This team had undergone practice for 25 days in the artificial hockey turf in Ramanathapuram which helped them win second place. If the Government provides an artificial hockey turf in Nilgiris District itself, it would be a boon for hockey aspirants," he added.
The Under-14 30th K D Singh Babu hockey tournament was held in Lucknow from January 24 to February 2. About 16 teams including three teams from Tamil Nadu, Assam, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana participated in the tournament. In the knock-out matches, the Nilgiris hockey team from Tamil Nadu won all the matches and reached the finals, but were defeated by the UP team, thus relegated to second place.
The tournament has been a regular event for the past 30 years but it is the first time that a team from Tamil Nadu has won a place in the tournament. An enthusiastic reception with band music greeted the Nilgiris hockey team, arranged for by the Nilgiri District Hockey Association and the public in Coonoor. School students welcomed the team members by garlanding them and offering bouquets.
They took the team in a procession from the Coonoor Level Crossing to Mount Road. Anantha Krishnan, the President of the Nilgiris District Hockey Association said that appeals had been made to the Government to provide an artificial hockey turf in Nilgiris. "This team had undergone practice for 25 days in the artificial hockey turf in Ramanathapuram which helped them win second place. If the Government provides an artificial hockey turf in Nilgiris District itself, it would be a boon for hockey aspirants," he added.