(The author is travelling Bhubaneswar to cover the FIH Men's Champions Trophy)
Bhubaneswar: Except for a quick dash to the stadium for team practice, it was a lazy day in the roster. Didn't bother putting up an alarm, didn't bother waking up and the construction site right behind my room facilitated all that, acting as a sun-blocker.
At 10 a.m., the last call for buffet breakfast got me out of hibernation mode, or else I would have slipped into metabolic depression.
Somehow I pushed myself out of the room and into the elevator. "Coffee with four cubes of sugar," I asked as I made my way into a corner table in the cafeteria. A shot of sugar now and then is always good to get going (especially on a lazy day).
But I had to quickly clear my eyes, get a shower and zoom off to the stadium for team practice. Build-up stories for the big one - India vs Pakistan.
As my ride drove closer to the Kalinga Stadium, huge queues - stretching as long as at least a kilometer - welcomed me. Fans lined up for the elusive ticket for an epic clash on Saturday evening. "We are here since 8 a.m., but without luck. We will now buy a ticket for the final and hope India beats Pakistan," said a local group.
Enthusiasm in a city that has never seen a match as big as this was easily palpable. Time to enter the stadium.
The geography of the Kalinga Stadium is such that you can easily get lost. That's precisely what happened to me getting down at Gate No. 3.
The stadium has a football field, two swimming pools, an indoor arena, a main hockey pitch and a practice hockey pitch. So if you go in the wrong direction, you will end up going in circles.
I was stopped in my tracks as an army guard saw me wearing an FIH Press card and going towards the football pitch. "Sir, you need to go this way," he said, drawing my attention with a tap on the shoulder. "Oh! Thank you," I said with a nod and turned towards the hockey stadium.
In another hour's time, I was back in my room at Hotel Ginger Bhubaneswar - in other words, home away from home. A series of hockey stories followed, and I was back in work mode.
It's a big one tomorrow (Saturday). Do come back to read the day-five diary. I might have a famous India-Pakistan story to tell.
Comments
0 comment