No TV, no privacy, common toilet: IWHF says players happy, got new tracksuits

Other teams — including South Korea, China and Japan — are staying in star hotels (The Park, the Ashoka) but are paying their own bills. The Indians are staying in the dormitories of SAI’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. While some seniors share double-room accommodation, others are lumped four or six to a room.

The rooms have the basics; no TV sets, no attached bathrooms, not much chance of privacy. Not much chance, either, of getting into focus before a match.

The players — the same players who, last year, had to lug their washing from one stadium to another because the Nehru Stadium ran out of water — are afraid to talk openly but do so on condition of anonymity. ‘‘Proper facilities help in concentrating on the match. We waste a lot of time to queue up for hot water in the common bathroom’’, said a senior player.

IHWF president Vidya Stokes said the team had no problem with the accommodation. ‘‘My girls are happy. Staying at the stadium has its benefits — they moved here before the tournament began and didn’t have to shift.’’

Indeed, she says the players have been given a lot of personal care. ‘‘We have given them very attractive tracksuits this time,’’ says Stokes.

How much would it cost to put the team up at, say, The Park? Hotel sources say the full fare would come to Rs 5.8 lakh. At the government-run Hotel Samrat, where the Arjuna Awardees stay when they come to be decorated, the full bill — including meals — would be Rs 6.8 lakh. Each figure can be halved (at least) once discounts are accounted for.

Does the IWHF have this money? Stokes says the federation has collected around Rs 47 lakh for hosting the tournament from the government and PSUs. ‘‘We didn’t want more money,’’ she says.

And the expenditure? Stokes says the main spending would be on hosting the technical delegates and umpires. A senior IWHF official said the entire expenditure for hosting the tournament was around Rs 15-17 lakh.

What does the IWHF plan to do with the profits? ‘‘We will use the money to hold the Junior Asia Cup and a four-nation series that we are planning. We want to make India the hub of women hockey acitvities in this region,’’ said Stokes.

Nice thought. How about starting with the players?