Facility Notes: Indian State Asks Gov't To Help Upgrade Field Hockey Facilities

India's Hockey Kerala "sought help from the government" to lay synthetic turf in at least three centers across the state to help field hockey players acquire the skills to play on these surfaces and "to reach their full potential." Hockey India newly-elected President Mariamma Koshy and Hockey Kerala officials V. Sunil Kumar and Ramesh Kolappa said that the key issue behind the poor performances of teams from the state at national level "was mainly due to the absence of proper training facilities," including the lack of synthetic turf (THE HINDU, 9/26). ... A new athletics track at London's Paddington Recreation Ground "is to be opened Wednesday, the site where Roger Bannister trained to break the four-minute mile." The project is backed by double Gold Medalist Mo Farah (ITV.com, 9/26).