Media walks out of first World Cup hockey promotional event - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

The media boycotted a promotional event of the forthcoming hockey World Cup here on Wednesday over the strict restrictions imposed by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) on the coverage of the tournament. The journalists have objected to an International Hockey Federation directive that the media wouldn't be allowed to cover the training and practice matches of the participating teams since accreditation is yet to be activated. Terming such a ruling as 'extremely unprofessional', media persons protested loudly. They did not let Arjen Meijer, the Communication Manager of FIH (International Hockey Federation) speak. Meijer, who was informed about the ban, assured media persons that the matter would be resolved. He mentioned that as a journalist himself, he appreciated their concern. "I am really sorry for you. I am very unhappy because I am a journalist myself and have been working for many years. Now, I am the Communication Manager of the International Hockey Federation. I flew here last night, to solve your problems, because in my opinion, the media has to do its work," said Meijer. However, after a brief meeting of the coordination commission of the World Cup, it was decided the media would be allowed access from today. New Delhi is hosting the 12-team World Cup hockey tourney between February 28 and March 13.