Gachibowli Hockey Stadium receives a facelift ahead of the FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers

At the acold extremity of the Gachibowli Sports Complex stands the hockey arena, erstwhile a arrogant venue that saw the Dilip Tirkey-led Hyderabad Sultans clinch the Premier Hockey League rubric successful 2005 arsenic good arsenic a fewer nationalist camps.

In caller years, however, the stadium had fallen into neglect, with hockey mostly fading from the city’s sporting imagination. The concern has changed now.

With Hyderabad hosting the FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers, the stadium has undergone a large transformation. The old, uneven aboveground has been replaced with agleam bluish astro turf sourced from Portugal, portion the adjacent signifier tract has besides received akin upgrades to supply world-class conditions for training.

“When we conducted the sub-junior women’s National title (in 2024), they [Hockey India] saw our potential. After that, they decided to bring an planetary title here,” A. Sonibala Devi, vice-chairperson and managing manager of the Sports Authority of Telangana, told The Hindu.

Hyderabad has not had the accidental to big a large planetary hockey lawsuit since it held the Afro-Asian Games successful 2003.

“Since then, we haven’t had thing of that scale. The authorities undertook the renovation work, and the caller astro turf we’ve laid is of the highest quality. It is called WETT Pro, which besides reduces h2o usage compared to accepted pitches.”

Upgrades widen beyond the pitch. New floodlights illuminate the stadium, the main gathering has been renovated, seating has been improved and impermanent stands person been installed to conscionable anticipated demand.

All of this has travel astatine a sizeable cost.

“For infrastructure, we person estimated the outgo to beryllium astir ₹14 crore. More than fractional of it was for the astro turfs. Besides that, the authorities has sanctioned ₹18 crore for the creaseless behaviour of the event.”

Hockey India has been intimately progressive throughout, adjacent sending method officials to assistance scout endowment during the 2nd variation of the CM’s Cup. The State authorities has besides received support to found an international-level hockey academy astatine the complex.

With the stadium present acceptable to big world-class hockey, Sonibala Devi hopes Hyderabad volition articulation the ranks of established hockey hubs similar Bhubaneswar, Rourkela, Ranchi, and Chennai.

“That is the plan, exactly. In the future, we purpose to big much planetary matches. Even leagues are successful the pipeline,” she admitted.