New Delhi, March 13 (IANS) Members of the Netherlands hockey team Saturday visited a shelter for rescued child labourers in north Delhi and gifted hockey sticks to the kids, saying that they have every right to play and enjoy their childhood.

Bhuwan Ribhu of the Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), a child rights NGO which runs the shelter home, said: 'The coach of the Netherlands hockey team, Michel Van Den Heuvel and two other players of the Premier League team visited the Mukti Ashram today to visit the 40 child labourers who we have rescued here.'

'The team spent about an hour with the kids and presented them with hockey sticks. The idea behind this was to tell the children that they have every right to play and enjoy their childhood, as much as they have a right to education,' Ribhu told IANS.

The Netherlands lost to Australia in the semi-finals of the Hockey World Cup.