The matter got some fire after the Sports Journalists Federation of India on Friday sent a letter to Gill, Kalmadi and Hockey India president Vidya Stokes in protest against the restriction on media coverage of the national team’s training.
In his letter to the Gill, Kalmadi appreciated the security concerns but said media should be allowed access to the venue after thorough security checks. “It has been brought to my notice by SJFI that journalists are not being allowed inside the National stadium to interact with the Indian hockey team and cover their practice sessions.
“While security concerns of the venue and the players are well appreciated, I think we should allow mediapersons to enter the stadium and interact with the Indian team members. This may, however, be done after they have been checked and cleared from security point of view,” the letter read.
Published 20 February 2010, 16:30 IST