The new artificial turf at Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata has met with mixed reactions from the players and coaches.

By Garima Varma

The turf at Salt Lake Stadium made possible the first semi-final of the 114th IFA Shield between Churchill Brothers and Air India during the rain.

The match, had it been played on natural grass, would have certainly been called off after Tuesday's downpour.

The Rs 50 million turf, which boasts of being the first of its kind in a soccer ground in the entire subcontinent, however, has not met with encouraging words from all.

While coaches like Karim Bencherifa and Carlos Alberto Pareira have given their thumbs-up to the new addition, players have been largely critical.

“The turf is a bit taxing on the knees. In our match against Air India, it was raining and that made the ball move too quickly.

"That needed us to put extra pressure on ourselves and involve more running,” Churchill’s Gourmangi Singh said.

The India defender, who donned the armband in the semi-final, said that he was more disappointed with the synthetic grass when the weather was hot.

“When it is hot and humid, which it is most of the time in Kolkata, there is a slight problem in breathing as well while playing.

"You can almost smell the rubber at that time,” he said, adding that he hoped “It rains on the final day (Saturday), otherwise it will be very tough.”

Bagan’s Moroccan coach Karim, did not choose to linger on the topic. “The ground is good. We didn’t have any problems while playing against Chirag United. We will have to cope with it,” he said.

His views were reflected by his Churchill counterpart Pereira as well. “The grass is different but it’s not unplayable. We have the experience of playing on such a turf. It shouldn’t be a problem. And, the turf can’t be used as an excuse for the performance,” the Brazilian said.

Air India coach Bimal Ghosh, however, sounded warning bells. “Playing in the rain is a regular feature for Kolkata footballers. So, the players didn’t face that much of a problem on Tuesday, the first semi-final. But when it gets hot, players will undoubtedly struggle on the surface,” he said. “Also, the surface will emanate too much heat. It will be strenuous under that condition,” he added.

And, then there are also some like Churchill goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharya who are least bothered. “It doesn’t matter what kind of the turf is under my feet. I have to play. When I am concentrating on my game, I don’t give a thought about the field. That is just a negative emotion,” the　Churchill custodian said.