Organisers fear IPL may mar hockey World Cup final

New Delhi, Aug 10 (PTI) Organisers of the 2010 Hockey
World Cup are afraid that advancing the event by a week may
not be enough and the final of the event may still coincide
with the third edition of the Indian Premier League.

A day before the IPL governing council meets in Mumbai
tomorrow, the organisers of the hockey World Cup expect them
to come out with the schedule of the third edition of the
Twenty20 league which, they fear, might mar their plan.

"In all likelihood, they are starting IPL 2010 from March
12, a day before our final. Since March 13 is a Saturday, we
fear they would slot an IPL double-header and that would mean
that the final of the 2010 hockey World Cup would go virtually
unnoticed," one of the organisers told PTI on condition of
anonymity.

He revealed the Indian Olympic Association has already
requested Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and IPL
officials to consider the emotion attached with the hockey
World Cup and requested them not to schedule any match on that
day.

"Requests have been made by IOA officials but we are yet
to get any assurance.

"After a gap of nearly three decades, hockey World Cup
has returned to India and let's face it that cricket,
especially its Twenty20 avtar, eclipses everything else, even
if it's the final of a hockey World Cup," he said.

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has been
generous enough to allow the organisers of the hockey World
Cup bring forward the event by a week -- From February 28 to
March 13 -- so that it doesn't coincide with IPL but there was
no more room for bringing it further forward, the official
said.

"The Winter Olympics is scheduled from February 12 to 28
and you cannot have two Olympic sport events at the same time.
In other words, the hockey World Cup cannot be advanced
further.

"It's a precarious situation and we expect the IPL
governing council to appreciate the emotion surrounding the
hockey World Cup when they finalise their schedule," he added.
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