Indian Sports and Entertainment Industry

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 08 Nov 2013 02:39

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/che ... 326783.ece

http://www.thehindu.com/sport/other-spo ... rge&test=1

If taking your opponent by surprise is pretty much part of the preparation ahead of any World chess title-clash, then champion Viswanathan Anand clearly delivered a psychological blow to the challenger Magnus Carlsen on Thursday.

Among the several unwritten rules the players follow before any match-play, secrecy around the identity of their ‘seconds’ is high on priority. Anand deviated from the usual practice and unhesitatingly announced his ‘seconds’ in the first joint press conference with the young Norwegian.

Hours before it was known that Carlsen would start the match on Saturday with white pieces, Anand made his first move.

“K. Sasikiran, Sandipan (Chanda), (Radoslav) Wojtaszek and (Peter) Leko” were the names Anand announced at the outset and continued, “so these are my first seconds. I worked as I always did, which is, a couple of months of training and I think I am well prepared. But we’ll see how it goes. But I feel ready to play and I am in a good mood.”

Those are cold looks....

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 08 Nov 2013 03:04

Carlsen did not really stand out in the Candidates event that qualified him as challenger. He finished on equal points with Kramnik, and went through on better head to head score, if I recall correctly. In addition both Svidler and Aronian were half a point behind. He even lost to that old maverick Ivanchuk, who ultimately finished next to last. This was a 4-way fight that he just about squeaked through. Calling him the greatest ever player just by virtue of his ELO score is not really meaningful due to recent rating score inflation.

I would not rate Carlsen higher than Kasparov, ever. Gary would have become world champ in the first final he played, if FIDE didn't cancel it arbitrarily as their golden boy Karpov flagged in that long match. I also detest Carlsen for having made an issue with the venue, and acted like a prima donna on the past two rounds of Candidates events, withdrawing once, and then acting entitled about the venue 2nd time around. He's a first timer fighting against the defending champion who defended his title in the enemy's den. He acts like Fischer without having the aura that Fischer had.

Satya_anveshi · Post by **Satya_anveshi** » 08 Nov 2013 03:39

If Anand pulls this off on home turf (May all the power and Lord Vishnu's blessings be with him), world needs to behold the entry of desi chess players by the dozens at international level. Anand's previous wins somehow did not register as much media attention on prime time as it will (probably) do now given the championship is here.

Advantage of more experience, ability to handle psyops, and home turf should be leveraged and translated into a weapon. Where are Indian "commentators/interviewers" giving psyop hell to adversaries? Or is it just us who will take the body blows all the time?

negi · Post by **negi** » 10 Nov 2013 16:12

Amma ka photo.

pgbhat · Post by **pgbhat** » 30 Nov 2013 08:13

The Interpreter

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 01 Dec 2013 00:03

4th World Kubaddi Cup started. 14 countries participating in both Men and Women Kabaddi competition

You can watch the matches live here!

http://www.livekabaddi.com/opening-cere ... -nov-30th/

http://live3rdworldkabaddicup2012.wordpress.com/

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 01 Dec 2013 00:08

Tomorrow (1st December)

1. Iran Vs. Spain
2. Argentina Vs. Kenya
3. India Vs. USA

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 01 Dec 2013 00:46

Paki are sending their Motoromas without the Bigg Blayer Jaalebi.

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 01 Dec 2013 01:08

This is the 3rd World Cup Kabaddi India vs Pakistan Finals from last year. India Won. They even have replays! Players can demand a replay and officials have to watch before giving the point.

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 03 Dec 2013 21:29

India defeats Spain 55-27

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 03 Dec 2013 21:31

http://freshsportsnewz.blogspot.com/201 ... earls.html

hanumadu · Post by **hanumadu** » 03 Dec 2013 22:29

When did they overhaul Kabaddi so completely? It barely resembles the game from a few years back.

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 04 Dec 2013 01:16

This is called Punjabi Kabaddi., or Circle Kabaddi. It is played in North India. This is not the Kabaddi they play in Asian games.

The ground is a circle and each team of 4 defenders stays in their part of the semi-circle. The raider tries to touch one or more of the opposite team and then if he succeeds in touching there is a duel between the two (only Two in this form of Kabaddi) as Raider tries to get back to his side without breaking his breath. Defender can stop the Raider or Can kick him out of the circle.

Defenders and Raiders are specialized players.

http://circlekabaddi.com/

hanumadu · Post by **hanumadu** » 05 Dec 2013 07:46

Thanks SBajwa!

So are there two associations in India for both the versions? Are there two world cups? Are there two teams in India - one for each version? Which version is more adopted by the other countries?

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 07 Dec 2013 00:34

There is no other World Cup for Kabaddi. It is played only in

1. Asian Games.
2. SAF games.

This world cup was started by the Punjab government (to get youth away from Drugs and Alcohol at a grass roots level) in 2010 (once every year). First year it was 1 Crore for the winning team, since then the prize money has been increased to 2 crores. November-December in Punjab is known as a "Mela" season as most of these fairs were traditionally organized to remember the martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur (november) and the 4 sons of Guru Gobind singh (December). So all over Punjab you see fairs and food along with Bhangra, Wrestling and Kabaddi competitions.

Most of the players or team coach/etc representing other teams are also Punjabi origin and thus this style of kabaddi.

Argentiaian and Kenyan team has non-punjabi coaches who taught the "Goras" and "Kalas" the fundamentals of Circle Kabaddi., ditto with other European teams.

Canada and USA have regular Kabaddi championships at various places (Chicago, New York, Toronto, Surrey, Vancouver, etc).

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 08 Dec 2013 01:28

India face Olympic ban over 'rules of good governance' says IOC

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 10 Dec 2013 20:32

Tomorrow! It is India vs nPakistan women in the semi final for the world cup kabaddi.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 15 Dec 2013 05:08

SBajwa wrote:Tomorrow! It is India vs nPakistan women in the semi final for the world cup kabaddi.

Indiawins

LUDHIANA: India beat Pakistan in the final of men’s 4th Kabaddi World Cup in Ludhiana on Saturday evening, Express News reported.Pakistan, who had stormed into the final after decimating the American team, were beaten by India 48-39 at the Guru Nanak stadium in Ludhiana, India.The win means India retain their world title.Earlier, the men’s team had stormed into the 4th Kabaddi World Cup final, thrashing USA 51-33 in their semi-final on Wednesday in India.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 15 Dec 2013 05:12

Satya_anveshi · Post by **Satya_anveshi** » 09 Jan 2014 07:01

Athletes from India will not carry their nation's flag at the Sochi Olympics

The Olympics are never free from political influence and associations, but in India, political infighting has literally cost the nation's athletes the chance to compete under their own flag.

India's membership in the International Olympic Committee has been frozen since December 2012, when the IOC learned that India elected officials accused of corruption to its national Olympic committee. The Indian Olympic Association will hold new elections, but those elections will not be held until after the start of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

Naturally, and justifiably, Indian athletes are outraged. "It is a sad and embarrassing situation that Indian sport has been put in," Shiva Keshavan, a luger who will compete in his fifth Olympics, told a local newspaper. "People around the world know about the failure of our systems and about corruption and bad governance in sports. The essence of the Olympic Games is to 'represent' and I feel it is shameful and pathetic for all of us Indians that athletes may not walk under the Indian flag."

India had been warned in December that its athletes faced the possibility of being classified as independent if the nation did not hold elections before February 7, the date of the Opening Ceremony. The IOA decided at a December meeting to hold the elections two days later, on February 9.

Why not simply change the date and move it a few days earlier? That's thinking about solving the problem, not preserving the process. "The decision to have elections on February 9 was taken at a special general body meeting last month," an IOA source told the AFP. "We would have had to call another general body meeting to change the dates."

"We have had discussions and it was mutually agreed that we must not take decisions in haste," a source told India Today. "So it was decided not to alter the dates for the elections. [Changing the election date] may allow people to exploit legal loopholes in the decision and jeopardize the polls again."

So rather than alter its bureaucratic procedures, India's Olympic committee has opted to embarrass its athletes, its nation and itself in front of the entire world. Olympic spirit apparently means very different things to different people.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 09 Jan 2014 07:10

Nothing new here. Even at the world amateur boxing championships a couple of months ago, Indian entrants were classified that way in the participants list. Clearly the problem has not been resolved by the IOA during the period in between.

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 13 Jan 2014 08:01

The next Anand?

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 26 Jan 2014 13:19

Sania Mirza (with Romanian Horia Tecau) loses in the Australian Open Mixed Doubles final. Well done to her for getting so far, and coming so close to adding another grand slam title.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 28 Jan 2014 12:13

Since the Winter Olympics is almost here, I thought I'd post this cool video of Shiva Keshavan, India's competitor in the Luge event:

While his chances in the Olympics are not high, it must be mentioned that he has made a lot of progress since Vancouver 2010, and was the Asian champion in 2011 and 2012, in addition to being the Asian speed record holder. In the two years preceding Vancouver, he had won a bronze and silver in the Asian championships, whereas he's now the 2-time winner.

Training run at Sochi:

The video is by his wife, who's also his manager.

Keshavan would probably be a multiple Asian Games champion by now, except that luge is not part of the Winter Asian Games.

chanakyaa · Post by **chanakyaa** » 07 Feb 2014 05:44

NRao wrote:India face Olympic ban over 'rules of good governance' says IOC

This should make one billion people very proud. Even these countries are participating (officially under their flag)

Iran (5 players)
Lebanon (2 players)
Mongolia (2 players)
Nepal (1 players)
Pakistan (1 player)
Philippines (1 player)
Thailand (2 players)
Republic of Timor-Leste (1 player)
Zimbabwe (1 player)
Togo (2 players)
Morocco (2 players)

Shiva Keshavan's video is nice.

MurthyB · Post by **MurthyB** » 07 Feb 2014 08:03

BTW, Sochi's preparations (or lack thereof) makes the CWG runup look quite professional by comparison.

Some examples: https://twitter.com/SochiProblems

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 08 Feb 2014 06:49

It's just not cricket, says Indian luger

http://sportsunbiased.com/more/olympics ... ishes-run/
Shiva Keshavan survived a scare on Sochi’s sliding track in training, but managed to right his sled and finish the run. (Associated Press)

“What happened in Vancouver, people can term it as a freak accident but I think it taught a lesson to a lot of people in the sport to take a lot more care when it comes to safety issues,” Indian luger Shiva Keshavan in an AP interview before Olympic sledders took to the Sanki Sliding Center for training runs at the Sochi Games. “That’s what they’ve done here.”“What happened in Vancouver” was the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili in a training run at the Whistler Sliding Centre prior to the start of competition.Little did Keshavan know how much those uphill sections would mean to him when he lined up in the starting blocks to push off on his first training run. The Indian is competing in his fifth Olympics, but his first since the Indian Olympic Committee was suspended by the IOC for political interference in the affairs of the national committee. He seemed more worried about the situation back home than the track he was about to race.“It is upsetting,” Keshavan said. “Ultimately, for us, the inspiration is to represent our country. That’s what the Olympics are all about. The main thing has been taken away from us, and for quite a shameful reason, a violation of the ethics code – not just a violation, but a refusal to accept the ethics code until we were suspended.”

Taking to the starting gate in a suit adorned with the names of fellow Indians that have helped him over more than a decade of fulfilling his Olympic dream, Keshavan was at his fifth Olympiad but his first as an international citizen without a flag. The track, however, does not care about your nationality, only your skill. He pushed off from the starting gate, got through the first few turns, and navigated the first uphill section coming out of the wide right bend.
Coming out of that first uphill section, he negotiated the first curve and picked up speed heading into the right-hander. He got too high on the track and flopped off the sled, sliding through the end of the curve on his stomach. His sled caromed off the wall coming out of the turn, flipping back ove
He would manage to finish off the run, nine seconds off the pace of defending Olympic champion Felix Loch of Germany. But the time was the last thing on Keshavan’s mind as he pulled off his helmet and breathed heavily after the scare.
( Video of Accident in the Link)
When he crashed, Keshavan was going 55 miles per hour (89 kilometers per hour), the uphill section doing its job admirably in dampening the speed that started building in the top section. In some ways the Indian luger was merely the beneficiary of a fortuitous series of events. But at the same time, he was going more than 25 mph (40 km/h) slower than Kumaritashvili was when he died at Vancouver, keeping him from flying completely off the top part of the curve and allowing him the time to react.There is never a guarantee of safety in sliding events; there will always be inherent dangers, especially in the luge and skeleton, in hurtling oneself down an icy chute with little more than a skintight suit and a helmet for protection. But track design, as we have learned, has the potential to be fatal… and it also has the potential to save lives.Shiva Keshavan was always unlikely to compete for a spot on the podium in Sochi. But he showed us that even those athletes who are seconds slower are still incredibly athletic. And at least in part because of the way Sochi’s track was designed, the Indian without a flag will have the opportunity to notch a fifth Olympiad to his name.

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 08 Feb 2014 07:04

I never realized it was this bad:

India face shame in opening ceremony of Sochi Games

chanakyaa · Post by **chanakyaa** » 08 Feb 2014 07:35

No country has been banned from the Olympics since South Africa were expelled between 1968 and 1988 during the apartheid era.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 08 Feb 2014 08:13

NRao wrote:I never realized it was this bad:
India face shame in opening ceremony of Sochi Games

Entirely the IOA's fault. After being suspended by the IOC in Dec 2012 for not amending their constitution and preventing convicted criminals from occupying IOA positions, they did nothing until Dec 2013. Finally, they accepted the first requirement and created a new constitution in late Dec 2013, whereupon the IOC promptly enabled us to participate in Sochi.

However, thanks to the fact that IOA took this long to do so, the IOA's re-accreditation could not be done in time. For all of 2013, Indian athletes have been participating as independents. Check out the participant list in the 2013 world amateur boxing championship or similar event, and you'll find India missing, just 'independent athletes'.

They have been true to form when it comes to supporting the winter Olympians as well. Shiva Keshavan got no help at all, and his sled and suit were paid for by NRIs. The two skiers didn't get their Olympic grade skis until December.

It's a good thing that this happened. So far our sportsmen have had no way to demonstrate the neglect they face. Hopefully, the sight of them being abandoned to such an extent that they're not even permitted to wear their flag because the IOC-affiliated national sports organization screwed up, will cause a major change to the IOA's operation.

chanakyaa · Post by **chanakyaa** » 08 Feb 2014 08:26

I'm not holding my breadth on a change any time soon, especially after looking at these headlines

http://www.thehindu.com/sport/other-spo ... 618141.ece
Ramachandran lone candidate for IOA presidency

N. Ramachandran, head of the Squash Racquets Federation of India (SRFI), emerged the lone candidate to have filed nomination papers for the post of Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president. The elections to IOA are scheduled to be held on February 9 and the deadline for filing nominations was Saturday.

Ramachandran, who served IOA as the treasurer from 2008 to 2012, was a member of the executive council led by Abhay Singh Chautala in 2012. The Chautala-led IOA had been suspended by the International Olympic Committee, which had opposed government interference in the Olympic Movement.

Hockey India official Rajeev Mehta was set to become the IOA secretary general unopposed just as All India Tennis Association president Anil Khanna for the treasurer’s post and Swimming Federation of India official Virendra Nanavati for the lone slot of senior vice-president.

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/indi ... 42278.html

Cases against Ramachandran may put IOA in big trouble

Some serious case of alleged misleading, forgery and manipulation are coming up against Indian Association of India president elect N Ramachandran (brother of BCCI president N Srinivasan) that may put his position untenable and may put IOA into a fix thereby threatening a further ban on India's Olympic movement by IOC.....

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 08 Feb 2014 09:03

Actually the suspension of the IOA has already been lifted. It's just that it happened late in Dec 2013, and there was not enough time for our athletes at Sochi to be reaccredited in time so they could wear their flags. Once again, the blame falls on the IOA.

However, there's still a chance that the IOA could be suspended again in six months if the IOC is not happy with their reform process. Hopefully, in that time a new administration will revamp the IOA.

Hitesh · Post by **Hitesh** » 08 Feb 2014 13:31

Why can't we just fire the IOA and replace them with new people? Surely, the Ministry of Sports can do something about it. Their failure to do something about it speaks volumes about MMS's lack of leadership and Sonia Gandhi's true character. They are the worst thing ever happened to India and the Indian people are to be blame for this.

saip · Post by **saip** » 11 Feb 2014 20:35

Now I see India's name (instead of Independent athletes or some such thing) in medals tally (still zero). So is the suspension completely lifted?

Link

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 11 Feb 2014 20:37

Yes, the IOC has lifted the suspension after the IOA conducted elections on Sunday. With immediate effect, all the independent athletes go back to being represented by the Indian flag, including at closing ceremony.

saip · Post by **saip** » 11 Feb 2014 23:22

Thanks. And these idiots could not hold these elections three days earlier? What a bunch of SOBs!

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 12 Feb 2014 00:09

Clearly it was very important for the IOA to first embarrass the nation for over a year culminating in the sight of our athletes not even being able to enter an Olympics under their own flag. Once they did so, they were dragged kicking and screaming into doing what they could have done in Nov 2012, and avoided this whole episode. Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose...

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 12 Feb 2014 00:19

Elections good! But the same corrupt people are running? The elected IOA president is the brother of the chief of BCCI. All sports in one family!

BCCI should be under Gavaskar.
IOA should be under Milkha Singh.
HI should be under some Hockey Hero.

and so forth!! these fatso who can't walk let alone run are in charge of sports

Lalmohan · Post by **Lalmohan** » 17 Feb 2014 22:10

meanwhile, two of our athletes have finished their events, and 1 is in action on the 19th
given the complete lack of backing and facilities, i am proud of these dudes to have the b@lls to compete on the olympic stage
shiva keshavan - luge - 5th olympic appearance
nadeem iqbal - cross country skiing, first appearance, came 85/87
himanshu thakur - giant slalom (skiing) - goes on 19th

shiva is atleast partially known, the other two (nadeem is a fauji) got funding through 2 weeks ago to get their india kit and new equipment

personally, i think that in cross country skiing, we should be able to produce some decent competitors given that all you need is snow covered forests unlike in the other events where specially prepared tracks are essential.

cross country skiing events include - straight racing over various distances (like marathon running), plus biathlon - including shooting between laps, and relays

the competition in these events has been fierce this olympics with some epic performances. realistically - we can aim for this sport if we tried

Lalmohan · Post by **Lalmohan** » 19 Feb 2014 15:06

himanshu thakur competed in the giant slalom today. in the first run he came in 77th out of 109. Whilst his time isnt great, his prioirity was to finish and not crash out, which atleast 20 odd competitors did. the course is particularly tough - one competitor had to be stretchered off.

he was about 16 seconds off the leader, and only the top 30 get to compete for the medal (leader +5 seconds). however, he skied with good style and composure and held himself together. in his other major international appearances to date he did not finish.

aman ki asha moment - first one to congratulate him after his run was the pakistani skier (who finished 75th - proving once again that paquis are better downhill skiiers than sdre yindoos!)