Meanwhile…

There were also — again a la cricket — huge barriers to prevent the crowds from invading the turf. At least someone has learnt a lesson. One wonders when the last time a hockey match was played with worries of a pitch invasion!

And then there was Manpreet Sandhu. Sandhu is a very popular Punjabi folk singer and had been given the job of filling in during the half-time break. Nothing wrong with that except that Sandhu refused to leave even after the players were preparing to re-enter. It was strage to see the teams practicing and warming up in sync with Sandhu’s tunes, as it were.

And finally, for the first time in recent memory, there wasn’t too much of the bhai-chaara we have become accustomed to seeing at Indo-Pak sports meets. The game had to be stopped for a few minutes in the second half after a Pakistani player complained about abuse from a section of the crowd. Though the incident was quickly bought under control, it did leave a bad taste in the mouth. — U G