Cash-strapped Nehru Hockey Society to host 60th men’s tournament

While cricket continues to hog the limelight in India, a national level hockey tournament is quietly celebrating its diamond jubilee this month in New Delhi. The Jawaharlal Nehru Hockey Tournament Society (JNHTS) is set to organise the 60th Senior Nehru Tournament for men from November 27 to December 7 at the Shivaji Stadium in the national capital.

Launched in 1964, the tournament was not played only twice – in 2020, due to Covid, and in 2023, when the organisers failed to find sponsors. Although strictly speaking only 58 editions have been played, the organisers have taken the two missed years into account and are promoting the tournament as the diamond jubilee edition.

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Finding sponsors for hockey tournaments in a cricket crazy country has been a real struggle for the JNHTS, points out its secretary general Kukoo Walia, a former International Hockey Umpire Grade 1 umpire. “I tried hard to find sponsors last year, but couldn’t. You get sponsors for hockey only through the people who are your friends or those who have an emotional attachment with the sport. But, now, nobody sponsors hockey for mileage because they don’t get as much as they expect,” rues 78-year-old Walia.

“Spectators come in much less numbers now. Earlier, the Shivaji Stadium, where this tournament is played, used to be packed with around 15,000 spectators. Now, I am trying to rejuvenate it by explaining to people that they should support the national sport of the country, pointing out that India won the Olympic bronze in 2020,” Walia tells Patriot.

Big prize money

The winning team of this year’s senior men’s tournament will receive Rs. 5.51 lakh while the runners-up will get Rs. 2.51 lakh – a big purse considering it’s hockey. There will also be individual prizes for players who perform well. The total prize money will be around Rs.10 lakh, informs Walia.

The increased prize money for the men’s tournament means the women’s competition may not be organised this year. “The JNHTS has organised three junior tournaments this year – for under 15 boys and under-17 boys and girls – but the senior women’s tournament has been kept on hold. The sponsorship money that had come for the women has been tournament. The sponsor has agreed to my request. I am now looking for sponsors for the women’s tournament,” says Walia.

Skyrocketing expenditure

Organising hockey tournaments has become very expensive in India. Although the state governments share a portion of the expenditure for the pre-Nehru Hockey Junior Tournaments – the state champion teams qualify for the competition in Delhi – the expenses have gone up considerably for the main tournament.

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“We have to spend Rs. 700 per player per day. The expenditure for the teams’ hotel stay comes to around Rs. 10 lakh and we pay Rs. 9 lakh to the caterer for the food. Around Rs. 3 lakh is the fee of umpires, supplied by Hockey India, the national governing body. Rs. 2 lakh is spent on transport by bus for ferrying teams. Rs. 10,000 per day is ground hiring charges [Shivaji Stadium],” Walia lists the main expenditure. “Evidently, the miscellaneous expenditures are many.” Walia said that Hockey India, headed by former India captain Dilip Tirkey, does not extend financial assistance. “About six years ago, they gave us some amount, but nothing after that,” he said. “I have talked to Dilip Tirkey for assistance. He has said he would do something, but even if the assistance comes now, it will be only next year’s tournaments as it is too late for this year.”

The JNHTS is virtually financially crippled and is even struggling to maintain its website. “We spent Rs. 40,000 per month just to keep the domain name, but the website hasn’t been updated due to paucity of funds. The printing of our newsletter has also been discounted for the same reason,” says Walia.