93 Infantry Brigade authorities fail to strengthen the spirit of the sports with unprofessional approach; One mismanaged hockey event mar successful Link up day celebrations
POONCH TODAY NEWS
POONCH: With big pomp and show, the 75th Poonch Link Up Day was organised by the Army, which concluded a few days ago and in which a large number of programmes were successfully organised by the Army. The pragmatic role played by Brigade Commander during the maximum events of Link Up day was appreciated by every section of the society. Majority of events which were organized remained highly successful, but one mismanaged event of hockey finals due to the unprincipled approach of an Army unit which was organizing the tournament, turned the Link up day event as break-up day, especially for sportspersons. During the hockey finals, a player received an injury that led to a minor scuffle between two boys’ teams, but Army authorities, rather than pacifying the matter, directed teams to leave the ground so that their function didn’t get spoiled. Such a negligent stance by a few officials of an Army unit who were organising the show left everyone dazed. One of the Army officials was seen saying that the commander was coming and that players should go off the field. They also directed the players not to spoil their show, as they would organise girls’ matches instead of men’s. It is important to mention here that the girls’ final was played on November 17th, but just to show everything was right, the girls’ final was played again on November 18th to give the impression that the hockey event was completed successfully. Earlier, the said army authorities, reportedly received wrong feedback from vested interests, and that was the reason that one of the army officials, without knowing the real game behind the curtains, sent a letter to the Director General of Youth Services and Sports to take action against one of the clubs for allegedly creating indiscipline by staying in the field. According to the rules of the game, staying on the field is discipline, while leaving the field is true indiscipline, but Army officials branded staying on the field as indiscipline in their letter because organisers never declared the match abandoned or cancelled, so the teams had no right to leave the field. Army officials acted in an unfair manner, reportedly under the influence of vested interests, because the authorities earlier got permission to organise the tournament on astro turf from local authorities, but sent a letter of complaint to higher authorities, which was a completely illogical act. A copy of the letter sent to the Secretary Sports Council by army authorities is available with “POONCH TODAY” which clearly shows that the Army acted against the spirit of the game in a hush-hush manner without following the proper procedure. Injury is unavoidable in any sport, but rather than boosting the morale of the young generation of hockey players from both clubs by timely resolving the issue and impressing them to play again, Army authorities played a very unconstructive role, which some prominent citizens present on the occasion believe will have a downbeat impact on the minds of young hockey players from both clubs who are the future of Poonch hockey. Never before in the history of Poonch has such a chain of events occurred in any game following a player’s injury, and it was all due to the bad intentions of some vested interests and the mismanagement of army authorities. The letter sent by Army authorities to the Secretary Sports Council clearly indicates a one-sided approach on the part of Army authorities, who may have been influenced by vested interests, which was uncalled for as the issue was minor and was blown out of context due to a lack of sportsmanship on the part of a few players. This irresponsible attitude of Army authorities clearly indicated that Army authorities of the 93rd Infantry Brigade prefer photo sessions only with traditional, self-styled prominent citizens and don’t care about the spirit of the game. Even police authorities were seen condemning the unconstructive stance of army authorities during the match, as the minor scuffle could have been prevented had the army authorities played a positive role. Rather than playing a positive role after the minor scuffle that led to disruption in the men’s finals match, Army authorities, just to save their faces in front of the commander, were seen directing hockey players to leave the field. On the one hand, the Commander 93 Infantry Brigade was seen playing a very healthy role throughout the Link Up Day celebrations, but on the other hand, one mismanaged event by an army unit marred the celebrations. The Army’s gesture without verifying the behind-the-scenes facts on the ground sparked a major controversy. Firstly, Army authorities created the scene by ignoring the spirit of the game and, later, sent a letter to higher sports authorities for taking action against a club, even when facts were not fully known to them. When the controversy arose, the Army authorities initially refused to provide video recordings for investigation purposes when asked by the police, but then became self-judges by claiming that the injury was intentional, as stated in the letter, despite not knowing the technicalities of hockey. Even the injured player was not given proper treatment on the spot initially. It clearly showed that the spirit of the game was deliberately killed by the authorities of the 93 Infantry Brigade just for their personal interest in showing everything was right. A high level inquiry is needed from the top level of 93 Brigade authorities as to what compelled the Army officers to play the erroneous role to kill the character of the game, as injuries are part and parcel of the game and there was no need to tackle the issue in an unfair way. Before organising any event, the 93rd Infantry Brigade authorities should check the credentials of those who are usually lined up as sports and society peace promoters to share the responsibilities to conduct various army events on the ground, as most Army authorities are covered with traditional sycophants with an openness to discussion histories who only care about grinding their own axes even if it means destroying the army’s reputation. The spirit of the game is important, and the 93 Infantry Brigade authorities need to learn this sooner rather than later in order to give the public the impression that the Army’s efforts are for setting high standards in various activities for which the Army is known throughout the country, as seen in other Link Up Day events. The off beam role played by Army authorities despite very successful Link Up Day celebrations by the 93 Infantry Brigade has shaken the minds of young hockey players, and it will take a long time for them to return to normal playing circumstances because, over and above, sportsmanship is important and young players need to show their talent purely on merit through a healthy competition rather than indulging in unethical acts, feel prominent senior players.
