From Saturday, India hosts its first top-level international hockey tournament in several years — the Asia Cup women’s meet — at the National Stadium here. So how does the groundstaff prepare the artificial turf? By cleaning it with Surf, in the absence of proper equipment. With most teams already in town, the Sports Authority of India — in charge of the stadium — is struggling to get the turf in playing condition. Imported from Holland in 2001 at a cost of Rs 3.25 crore, the turf now has black stains all over because of poor maintenance and accumulation of mud. Not for want of trying, though. Stadium administrator Manmeet Singh Goindi told The Indian Express that, lacking the specified equipment, his groundsmen clean the turf manually — using Surf (Surf Excel, as one of the cleaners said proudly). ‘‘There was no machine provided to us to clean it when the turf was installed. We had no choice but to clean it manually with Surf’’, Goindi said. When contacted, SAI chief JP Singh said he was not aware of the problem in his stadium. ‘‘I need to first ascertain it from my officers. But if a machine is the norm everywhere then they should use it to clean the turf. I am not aware if they’ve been using detergent.’’ The turf was installed by DESO DLW, the Dutch manufacturers. Last year, they’d sent their representatives to inspect the turf and discovered that SAI was not using the right maintenance methods. So what is the right way to clean astroturf? Ideally by using a garden tractor with a brush, said DESO’s India sales representative Ralf Oechies. Cost: roughly 3,000 Euros (approximately Rs 1.7 lakh). Benefit: the turf can be used for more than a decade. Right now, it appears unfit for the next fortnight. The wear and tear is plainly visible, though SAI has tried to cover up the rough areas by getting them stitched and putting a fresh coat of paint on these patches. However, some of the Indian players told this paper expressed that the repair is likely to create uneven bounce. That doesn’t seem to have fazed the Asia Cup organisers, the Indian Women’s Hockey Federation. Its secretary-general Amrit Bose says objections to the quality of the turf should not be raised now. ‘‘The teams have arrived and we should not question why detergents are used for cleaning the turf. Everyone should promote women’s hockey.’’
