HOCKEY

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22317, 3 February 1938, Page 6

HOCKEY

. —♦— INDIANS TO TOUR DOMINION MANAVADAR STATE TEAM DISCUSSION BY MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE The management committee of the New Zealand Hockey Association, at its meeting last evening, discussed cable messages received from the Indian Hockey Federation and from the Manavadar State Hockey Association, accepting New Zealand's financial terms for the visit of an Indian team to tour New Zealand this season. The chairman. Mr H. S. J. Goodman, said that these cable messages were the result of long negotiations between India and New Zealand, and it was pleasing to announce that a strong Indian team definitely would be touring New Zealand in May, June, and July next, on the same financial terms as the 1935 Indian team which had toured New Zealand. The visiting team would not be the official representatives of the All India Federation, but would be a team selected by His Highness the Ruling Prince of Manavadar, who probably would come to New Zealand himself as captain of tire touring side. II was expected that tire visiting team would include a 'number of Olympic Games representatives, with some who had already visited New Zealand. The probable manager of tire team was Mr M. N. Masud, who was tire vice-captain of tire previous Indian team. Mr Masud had since been a member of the victorious Indian team in tire Olympic Games at Berlin in 1936. and had written a very interesting book on the Indian team’s tour of Germany and Austria, Mr Masud was a recognised world authority on hockey, and it was due largely to his successful coaching that the Manavadar State representative hockey team had won the interstate tournament in India. On behalf of the sub-committee set up to control the New Zealand arrangements of the tour, Mr W. H. Down presented a tentative itinerary, which provided for the Indians to arrive in Wellington early In May and to tour the whole of New Zealand for 1J weeks, playing 29 matches, including three test matches. Mr H. Throp moved that the completion of the itinerary be delayed until the arrival of the next air mail from India, when it was expected that the exact date of the arrival in New Zealand would be known; and that in the meantime the management committee of the New Zealand Women’s Hockey Association be consulted, so that the dates of the matches of the Indian team should not clash with the fixtures of the English women's hockey team, which would be touring New Zealand this season. In seconding the motion, Mr P. N. Quartermain said there was plenty of room for the two tours. They would even be complementary to each other in helping to educate the public to appreciate first-class hockey as played by acknowledged experts. Tlie motion was carried unanimously. It was decided to write to the Australian Hockey Association with reference to the Indian team playing exhibition matches in Australia while en route to and from New Zealand. It was further decided to write to the Indian Hockey Federation expressing appreciation of the federation’s action in giving permission for an Indian team to tour New Zealand, and .wishing the federation every success m the Asiatic section of the Olympic Games hockey elimination tests, which are to be played in Palestine this year