The apathy of sports administrators towards school sports was once again highlighted when the National School Games boy’s hockey final in Jalandhar was cut short by 15 minutes as the chief guest had to go for another meeting and could not wait till the end, according to a report in the Tribune.
The final between Punjab and Delhi was halted with 15 minutes still to play so that Punjab Education Minister OP Soni could greet the players, the report said. Instead of continuing the match from there on, the minister went on to address the gathering followed by a presentation ceremony and a cultural show.
The minister even apologised to the players from the dais for interrupting the match as he had to attend an important meeting called by Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.
Punjab were leading Delhi 3-0 at that time and while the players were waiting for the match to restart, the organisers announced that play would not resume again and the hosts were awarded the title.
When contacted by the newspaper, Soni said, “I was told that the match was finished and Punjab had won 3-0.” However, no official from the School Games Federation of India or the organising committee was willing to clarify why the match was stopped abruptly and then did not resume.
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