Bitter pill to swallow: No live telecast of Sultan Azlan Shah Cup
Fans missing out on high quality hockey action
Is it a false façade? So much of positive buzz has been generated by Hockey India about the sport over the last few years that makes one wonder whether hockey is beginning to get the ‘tender care’ it requires amid years of step-motherly treatment meted out to them. The non-telecast of the ongoing 24th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament – a premier event – featuring world champions Australia, New Zealand, Korea besides India only confirms that hockey continues to be cold-shouldered by sports channels.
One went into a ‘high’ when ESPNSTAR Sports signed an agreement with Hockey India, which involved covering Indian hockey for five years. Of course, that pact was only for covering matches held in India, but Star Sports did beam live coverage of the Sultan of Johor Cup held in Malaysia last year.
NEO Sports which enjoys broadcast rights for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament over the last few years, hasn’t made any announcement about its live telecast plans this year. Hockey buffs got a ‘shocker’ on Sunday when they learnt much to their disappointment that no sports channel is offering live telecast of the event considering that Indian hockey is on an upswing – the national team have beaten world champions Australia four times last year besides pipping other top teams like Germany, Netherlands and Belgium. So there was no way that the non-performance of the national team can be offered as an alibi for sports channels shying away from providing live telecast of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.
No channel comes forward to telecast the event
After STAR Sports provided exemplary live coverage of the 2015 Hero Hockey India League, one thought that the sequence of live coverage of Indian hockey will continue. Of course, DD Sports covering the FIH Women’s Hockey World League Round 2 Event in New Delhi last month was a bitter pill to swallow – one wanted to know what happened to the Star Sports-Hockey India agreement which stated that Star Sports will beam live telecast of India’s games played in India. If not for DD Sports, the FIH Women’s Hockey World League Round 2 Event would have gone the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup way.
It may be noted that Ten Sports’ long broadcasting contract with FIH for the FIH- sanctioned tourneys ended last year. So to expect Ten Sports to come forward for live telecast of a regional event is asking for too much.
Clearly, Hockey India and the Asian Hockey Federation – under whose aegis the Malaysian Hockey Confederation is holding the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup should have talked it out with broadcasters well in advance so that hockey buffs are not deprived of watching their heroes in action.
Hockey fans had to depend on Twitter on whatever updates they can latch onto as there was no live telecast and one hopes the authorities concerned wake up and ensure that fans are not deprived of live telecast action.