'Indians played on empty stomachs'

Soldiers do not march on empty stomachs and the same could be said of hockey players.

The three-hour rain-induced stoppage on Wednesday night during the deciding pool A match in the 15th Sultan Azlan Shah eight-nation hockey tournament in Kuala Lumpur, caused more worries to the Indian team than their opponents Korea as coach Vasudevan Baskaran had to contend with hungry, thirsty and restless players.

The match was halted seven minutes to half-time due to torrential downpour accompanied by thunder and lightning with India ahead 2-0. After a three-hour break, the match resumed and India went on to win 3-0 to qualify for the semi-finals.

During the extended break, Baskaran and phyiso Ravi Kankamedala waded through shin-deep water in search of snacks for the players.

"The players had their lunch at 12 noon and some of them had eaten only fruits. So, with the extended stoppage, they were obviously hungry and thirsty," Baskaran said on Thursday.

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"We ran out of drinking water as the players consumed all the 48 half-litre bottles and also the additional supplies we had carried to the ground. We had not packed food since we had not expected such a situation," he explained.

They finally located a stall selling hamburgers. "But four of our players are pure vegetarians and so I helped cut cabbage to prepare sandwiches. I knew it was not sufficient, but then, at least, the players had some nourishment," he said.

"It was tough on the players to be sitting around in the dressing room doing nothing. But they coped well with the situation," Baskaran added.

Tournament Director, Alain Renaud, offered two options to the Indian team -- either to continue the game on conclusion of the other scheduled match, Australia vs Malaysia, later in the night, or resume this morning.

"Our players were ready for anything, but I preferred that the match be completed the same day, but prior to the Australia-Malaysia game. Renaud was understanding and agreed to my request," he said.

The Australian and Malaysian teams too had a long wait, having arrived at the ground at half-past three in the afternoon for their 5 pm match that eventually started at 8.30 pm (local time).

With the organisers also caught unawares by the downpour, no arrangements were made for supplying food and nourishment to the players.