Olympic Park Hockey Centre likely to be tested in the London Cup – Hockey News
In a bid to tryout the new turfs prior to the Olympics, England Hockey, the National Governing Body of hockey, expressed its desire to organise the new London Cup at the Olympic Park Hockey Centre as a test competition.
It is vital to mention here that the London 2012 Organising Committee has prepared new turfs with a combination of blue and pink colours for the upcoming Olympics Games. Therefore the sports' governing body is intending to run through the new pitches prior
to the mega event.
Four teams including Belgium, South Korea, New Zealand and the host England will take part in the new London Cup, which is scheduled to be held from July 12 to 16 at the University of Westminster's Quintin Hogg Memorial Sports Ground in Chiswick. However,
the next edition is likely to be shifted at the Olympic Park Hockey Centre in May 2012. In the test tournament, Great Britain will partake instead of England.
James Tindall, the legendary forward player of England and Great Britain, was of the view that the test tournament would help them to overcome the stage-fear that they had undergone in the last edition of the Olympic Games. It would be a great advantage
as a host team to test the turf ahead of the mega event, he added.
He further stated that the combination of blue and pink seemed awesome in pictures and he was very delirious about the new combination. The element of home-ground will play significant role in the London Cup, he added.
Tindall maintained that they were in the capital and were very close to the Olympic Hockey Centre, adding the test run-out will be very helpful for them. He stated, “That home advantage will be massive. There are over 600,000 hockey tickets on sale and if
we can get as many GB fans as possible watching us at the test event then maybe the Olympics itself won't be such a shock for us.”
He explained that they felt strange in Beijing back in 2008, when they landed at the impressive turf. In his views, the test tournament will be a practice session for them and they would experience the new colours of pitches prior to the hockey gala.
The matters regarding the London Cup have not been finalised owing to various range of issues including rights procedures and sponsorships. However, the UK’s hockey governing body is intended to host the event at the Olympic Park.
Barry Middleton, the skipper of the English squad, was of the opinion that they were extremely excited to play at the Olympic Park, when the 2012 London Games are only one year away.
Tags: