Hockey in Sri Lanka is gearing up to begin a new journey to revive the glory days of the sport with the backing of Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa who has pledged to build a new Astro Turf at the Racecourse Sports Complex, Reid Avenue.
The Minister made this announcement after ceremonially declaring open the new headquarters of the Sri Lanka Hockey Federation (SLHF) at the Racecourse on Wednesday.
Kamal Pushpakumara, the SLHF president who is also a Senior Superintendent of Police said they would work together as one team to promote hockey around the country.
“Sri Lanka was among the top four nations in Asia during the 1960s but unfortunately we have dropped to 14th in the rankings now.
“After cricket, it was one of the most popular sports in schools at one time. We will enlist international coaches to develop the sport in the districts taking the game outside the traditional hubs such as Colombo, Matale, Galle, Badulla and Wennappuwa,” said Pushpakumara.
But the hockey chief regretted that even Colombo and Matale had drawbacks that can no longer be hidden.
“The two surfaces in Colombo and Matale are presently in a dilapidated state,” said Pushpakumara while at the same time expressing his gratitude to the Sports Minister for investing in hockey.
“We are united and there are no factions now. We will work together as one team to achieve our goals,” said Pushpakumara who took over as SLHF president just two months ago after overcoming several legal challenges.
A brief exhibition match was also played at the commissioning ceremony between the Armed Forces players and the CH and FC team who are touring Oman this week while Minister Rajapaksa felicitated the para athletes who won medals for Sri Lanka at the recent Asian Youth Para Games in Bahrain.