Images of serpentine queues leading up to the gates of the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela is not what the sport is used to. It took mind back to the Lahore World Cup final in 1990, when the National Stadium there took in 60,000 with around 10,000 waiting outside to watch Pakistan take on the Netherlands. The loudspeakers at the stadium blared, asking those outside without tickets to go back home and watch the match on TV.
The Lahore stadium's capacity is 45,000. But every available space -- sitting, kneeling, standing -- was taken. The 21st century hockey hasn't seen anything even close to that many fans at a game of hockey.
