Indian Sports and Entertainment Industry

[derkonig]

I got very excited on hearing the news that he had beaten the olympics champion and thought he would win the gold medal.I was equally shocked when I learned that he was beaten in the semi-finals.

But, I'm hopeful that he would bring us medal in the olympics.

He is the best bet for India at OG. He is ranked in the top 8 in the world.

That is unless the Chicoms don't try their dirty tricks, mind you they have made it a prestige symbol to top the medals list this time, so expect nothing but the worst from them.

We have a long history of being discriminated & ruled against unlawfully in various such games. We will do well to remember the case of Sunita Rani(Busan), S Santhi(Doha), Shiny Abraham (Seoul). All of these athletes were medal winners & the respective organisers tried their best to take away their medals & humiliate them.

My fear is that Chicom olympics will take such incidents against us, to a new high, not just to ensure that they save face but also for political reasons like their 'dsipleasure' over Tibet, AP, Sikkim, etc.

[SBajwa]

That's what Indian entrepreneurs, sportsmen, politicians and military deserve for portraying themselves as the softest nation in the world.

[derkonig]

^
Your post is highly inflammatory & unwarranted. Blame our politicians, but you cannot blame our armed forces, entrepreneurs & sport men as they have often been hamstrung by our political leadership.

[Stan_Savljevic]

Woah. I hope this is the tip of the iceberg. Oiropean hockey shrouded in dope test failures. Spanish women have started getting caught. There is a threat of a ban for Spain from the OG womens hockey. I have always had the belief that hockey, esp the Oiropean running brand of hockey, was not too far off from games like baseball, cycling, sprint etc. How else can one explain day after day of 70 minute run-athons? Certainly Oiropeans are better at running, but that still does nt explain the run-fests that the Dutch, the Germans and the Ozzies and most mainland Oiropeans have put up. Nice. Lets hope that more cheats get caught.
Clicky

In other news,

As a bunch of 26 youngsters break sweat in the sweltering heat of June, coach Ajay Kumar Bansal rues the fact that the main purpose of the first leg of the camp for the forthcoming junior Asia Cup hockey tournament in Hyderabad has been defeated due to the cancellation of the trip to Poland for a four-nation tournament.

India’s withdrawal from the Poland tournament was shrouded in controversy as, even after the suspension of the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), the team was reportedly withdrawn by the federation.

Clicky

Hesh withdrew from the semis of the mixed doubles at French open due to flu and sore hamstring. Hope he saves them for the OG and it aint too serious. He (and Lee) are one of the best bets for a medal at OG.

[Tamang]

[Stan_Savljevic]

Jeev wins the Austrian Open

Jeev Milkha Singh of India parred all the 18 holes of his final round on Sunday to win the Austrian Open golf title by a stroke.

Clicky

India beat Maldives 1-0 to top the group in SAFF football.

[Stan_Savljevic]

Looking forward to the saff finals between India and maldives at sugathadasa sometime tomorrow. I dont think our fifa rating will improve if we win this. if we lose, we are sure to drop further than where we stand.

[Vasu]

Lets just hope it doesnt. I am still waiting on Dasmunshi to start delivering on that "india will have more friendlies in a year" promise.

Anyways, the Santosh Trophy is getting decent media coverage. The biggest upset in the semis - Services beat perennial favorites Bengal. A services guy scores his second hattrick in three games! Maybe Bob might want to call him up for national duties.

[Stan_Savljevic]

Anyways, the Santosh Trophy is getting decent media coverage. The biggest upset in the semis - Services beat perennial favorites Bengal. A services guy scores his second hattrick in three games! Maybe Bob might want to call him up for national duties.

His name is Sochungmi Raleng.

Saina Nehwal advanced to the semifinals of Singapore Open badminton tournament, beating Indonesian Firdasari Adrianti 21-16, 20-22, 21-16 in a hard-fought encounter on Friday. Anoop Sridhar and Arvind Bhatt lost in the mens quarters.

[Stan_Savljevic]

Interview with RicC in Sportstar

Mahesh Bhupathi is playing with Rohan Bopanna at the Stella Artois grass tournament. Seems like he is building a case to dump Leander from future doubles partnerships. Not before OG, I hope. But OG might be their last and final outing together. Everything from the Sept. DC world group playoff against Romania may see a different doubles team than Lee-Hesh.

There seems to have been a burning question raised by the ILTA on how Hesh and Bopanna (or Hesh and anyone else other than Leander) can be the no. 1 pair in OG, given that they have NEVER played together before. This is to answer that question. And they had a bye in round 1, and have won the round 2 game. Seems like de javu all over again.

OTOH, something is so fcking spooky about the FIDE chess rankings these days. One good tournament and anyone and everyone seem to challenge Anand for the no. 1 ranking. So odd.. I mean Moro had a good tournament in Sarajevo last month, and the chessbase commentators were like "he can challenge Anand, oh what a pity, he decelerated". And then now its the turn of Carlsen. I mean, how can one good show and multiple here and there shows get someone to the top. Anand almost always ends up in the top 2 or 3 in every tournament he plays these days. And there is not much of a gap between him and others!!! Any chess watchers follow this farce, or is it in my head? Or is this all smart psy-ops of chessbase. {I dont seem to think so cos the live rankings which are updated everyday also seems to show this trend. I saw Moro get to rank 3 from 7 or so with one bloody tournament!!!!!}. There has never been so much volatility in the FIDE rankings ever since I started observing them in the early 90s. GarryK was so untouchable, even if he would not win a Linares or Wijk Aan Zee that year. What gives?! Has the FIDE skewed up their ranking metrics in the recent past?

[Sriram]

Stan,

Any news on the table-tennis front, do you follow? I have to admit it has been a while since the days of Kamlesh Mehta, Chandrasekar (didn't apollo screw up?), Chandramouli, Rinku Gupta (?), young Chetan Baboor and internationally Jan Ove Waldner (rest of the Swede gang), Xie Saike, Kim Ki Taek. Those days if they show "bendha"(marble game) on TV, I will watch.

Thanks!

[Stan_Savljevic]

Stan,
Any news on the table-tennis front, do you follow?

Yes, I do follow. Even though there has not been much to write about in terms of India in international events. I remember the days when Kamlesh Mehta used to win national championship after championship, 16 or 17?! Arup Basak, Jorgen Persson, Montu Ghosh - A few folks I remembered not in your list. All those names you mentioned seem to be like circa mid-90s, the time when I was hooked to sports statistics

The chicoms are producing TT players like a production line in a car factory. Last count, they won all the five golds at the worlds, if I am not wrong. The Swedes all came and went. You missed a lot of things. First the Scandinavians took to badminton with a vengeance and now they are after squash . There are hardly any top players playing TT in that part of the world anymore.

As of now, India has only one person for the OG. Sharath Kamal. If he gets to the quarters, we should be happy. He is ranked around the mid-50s. In terms of CWG, there is no challenge for him. The team sucks big time though. Not much support cast. I remember they lost to Nigeria in the team events!!
One recent news item from the chindu

[Stan_Savljevic]

Seems like I have jinxed Hesh-Bopanna. They lose the next round. Now their case is water-tight for picking by ILTA officianados. Looking forward to the indy masters series when Hesh and Leander will pair up.

The surprise package of the tournament was the untitled Indian M.S.Thejkumar, who is all set to become a GM before becoming an IM! He has completed three GM norms in a span of six months, from three tournaments: the Commonwealth Open, the Kolkata Open and the Mumbai Open. The Goregaon Sports Club proved to be a happy hunting ground for this player on the way to earning his third and final norm, wherein he scalped GM Ziaur Rahman, drew with Macieja and Kunte, and suffered loss to the top two seeds, Kransenkow and Humpy.

Clicky

Ritwik Bhattacharya climbing slowly up the PSA rankings.
Clicky

[Raju]

>Ritwik Bhattacharya

Neha Dhupia's boyfriend

[Stan_Savljevic]

Very often, multiple defeats on one day can be plain frustrating. Krikkit match, football n now badminton. I seem to be jinxing folks who are winning without much help from my evil eyes.

[putnanja]

Rs 450 per day, 4 to a room, players cook to cut hotel bill: national football in IPL season

[Stan_Savljevic]

World record in shooting

Ronjan Sodhi, who equalled the world to win gold in double trap at the ISSF World Cup shooting in Belgrade on Wednesday, said minutes after achieving his feat that it was the "best moment" of his life.

Muliple national records in athletics in the last few days. 10000 ms men, 400 ms women etc. Here is the latest one. Some of them have been happening at a low-key event in London. Some in India. For one, I am happy to see 30 year old records out of the Indian national records scene. T.C.Yohannan's record is finally out in 10000. Gee, he set in in the 70s!!

Krishna Mohan of Andhra Pradesh set a new national record in men's 110m hurdles on the final day of the 48th Inter-State Senior Athletics Championship here on Wednesday.

Seema Antil seems to be in terrible form. She may miss the bus to Beijing, In the meanwhile,

Woman discus thrower Harwant Kaur joined an enlarging list of Beijing Olympic qualifiers on Tuesday by pulling off a last-round throw of 61.09 metres in the 38th National inter-State athletics championships at the MGR Stadium here.

Another insight,

In an incredible improvement over a short period of time, Mandeep, obviously benefiting from the training stint in Ukraine, went past her Yalta performance (51.80) while leaving the rest of the field way behind in the 400 metres. Chitra Soman was second in 52.71 while Satti Geetha came home in 53.89 for the bronze.

Anup needs to go to Indonesia or Malaysia and practice with those folks. He did that before and went quite a long distance in the All-England. He is not getting better practice sticking with his usual suspects.

Saina Nehwal cruised into the second round with a straight game win in the women's single while compatriot Anup Sridhar bowed out of the Indonesian Open Super series in Jakarta on wednesday.

Hesh and Lee in semis.
Sania out after thumping Panetta in the first round. Always been the same old from Sania. Beat one major player in round 1, get whupped herself in round 2. I am getting bored of tracking her WTA rankings. She is still at 33!! Amazing.

Davis Cupper Prakash Amritraj moved a step ahead to qualify for the Wimbledon Championships after defeating Jean-Rene Lisnard in straight sets in the first round of men's singles qualifying competition.

Kapil Dev and Dhruv Pandove in a tit-for-tat fistfight.

And finally, swimming

It has been a case of so near yet so far for Shikha Tandon as she makes a determined bid to qualify for the Beijing Olympics. If she makes the cut, Shikha would become the first Indian swimmer to represent the country in two successive Olympics.

Shikha has come close to the Olympic ‘B’ qualifying mark in the 50m freestyle in the past two months. She clocked her best ever 50m freestyle time (26.37s) at the Malaysian Open meet at Kuala Lumpur in May, which was 00.05 seconds off the qualifying mark (26.32 s). At the Singapore Open meet last week she clocked exactly the same time.

This leaves Shikha with her last chance at the Telstra Sydney Grand Prix starting on July 4, as a last shot to qualify for Beijing.

[Stan_Savljevic]

This one sucks biiiiiiig time.

A national u-21 hockey camp was being held at Sonepat (Haryana) from 26th May to 8th June under coach A. K. Bansal, to prepare the Indian junior team for a 4-nation tournament in Poland from June 11 to 15.

The IHF, which was suspended by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) after an emergency executive meeting in April, wrote a letter on the old IHF President's letterhead, unilaterally and unconditionally withdrawing India from the u-21 tournament.

The organisers do not know the gutter politics of Indian hockey - they promptly scrapped India and invited neighbouring Austria to take part in the competition.

When the IOA ad-hoc committee came to know of this development, they made a plea to change the tournament to a 5-nation tournament and include the Indian team.

The organisers refused the request - after all, why should they change their event from a 4-nation to a 5-nation tournament, with increased matches, days and cost, just to accommodate the the petty, childlike and immature infighting of Indian hockey.

IOA-appointed selection panel chief Aslam Sher Khan said: "After being sacked as the IHF chief, Gill has stooped down to ruining our children's future. After all, it was India's junior team, this tournament had the Government's approval, and we were preparing for next month's Jr. Asia Cup. It just goes to show we (former players) were right in demanding his removal."

When Gill was contacted for his reaction, he said, conveniently, "I have been barred by the court from making any statement on Indian hockey." Is sending a letter on the IHF president's letter head not barred by the court?

When another official of the disbanded IHF was contacted, he said: "We took the decision to pull out of the tournament in Poland because it was not a strong competition."

As a result of such brainless IHF ex-officials, the Indian junior team spent a few extra days in a camp in Sonepat, Haryana, instead of flying to Poland to play in a 4-nation tournament. All this, just one month before the Jr. Asia Cup.

Clicky

Also read the next one on Aslam Sher Khan.

Interview with KPS Gill
Some of the remarks are so funny, please read.

An astroturf is being laid in Coimbatore. That makes it 3 astroturfs in TN. A long way to go, but given the water scarcity in TN, I dont know.

Vasu, this seems to be a new site I was nt aware of before.
Stick2hockey

[Stan_Savljevic]

Geet Sethi is involved in a project named Olympic Gold Quest Sports Foundation. He is teaming up with badminton legend Prakash Padukone, and the two are striving to arrange funds to assist Indian sportspersons with Olympic medal prospects.

Shooter Gagan Narang is one of the early beneficiaries of Olympic Gold Quest. The men’s 10m air-rifle marksman, who will get financial support till 2012, won a bronze in his favourite event at the ISSF World Cup shooting 2008 at Beijing. He is among nine Indian shooters so far who have got Olympic quota places for the Beijing Games.

Clicky

In tennis, the after-sania bandwagon is doing reasonably ok.

Third seed Sanaa Bhambri spanked seven seed Sung-Hee Han of Korea in straight sets to clinch the singles title of the ITF Women's tennis tournament here on Saturday.

Hesh and Lee are in the finals of Ordina open tennis. Not sure if the magic is back. Its such a pity that these naturals had such a ruckus and fight for so long. What a bloody waste partnering folks like Mario Ancic and whoever not. India definitely lost out on so many major championships because of their stupid fights. Waiting for the Indy masters in mid-July.

In athletics, we have to wait and see if the womens 4x400 will get to Beijing. Lying in the 18th spot. and the top 16 qualify.
Clicky

Anand writes about chess and his journey in Time
And Carlsen goes to number two in FIDE rankings. Hopefully when the FIDE rankings are out in July. An amazing rise so far for a kid. But Anand could nt care less till the Sept matchplay against K-man is done. And then comes the Olympiads at Dresden. But Anand may skip it for a well-deserved break.

[Stan_Savljevic]

Stick2hockey lists a same-old same-old charge on the interim hockey committee. One buncha losers replaced with another.

Simultaneously, the ad-hoc comm comes up with a list for the Jr. Asia cup.

Goalkeepers: PR Sreejesh, Mrinal Chaubey, Manish, Hardeep Singh
Full-backs: Diwakar Ram, Innocent Kullu, Sameer Baxla, Manjeet Kulu, VR Raghunath, Manavjit Singh
Midfielders:Gurbaj Singh, Vivek, Jagnit Singh, Ranjit SIngh, Amardeep Ekka, B. Horo, Birender Lakra, Vikas Sharma
Forwards: Pramod Kumar, Danish Mujtaba, Jagwant Singh, Lalit Upadhyay, Yuvraj Balmiki, Gurvinder Singh Chandi, Dharmveeer Singh, Mandeep Antil, Jai Karan, SV Sunil, Juhar Singh, Roshan Minz

Clicky

The Indian Olympic Association which dissolved the Gill’s Indian Hockey Federation first set up a Selection Committee with five Olympians, and much later an ad-hockey committee consisting of personalities from its own set up to run the hockey affairs. Absence of single professional in these committees is a cause for concern.

The ad-hoc committee did not meet even once. It speaks of their casual attitude. The Selection Committee headed by Aslam Sher Khan met five times, but Dhanraj Pillay’s absence in all sittings is a mystery. Except ratifying a team that coach had selected for the Azlan Shah Cup, the Committee is yet to show anything to show they mean business. Till now, they haven’t come up with any roadmap, perception or policy statements to satisfy their posting.

Karnataka Hockey Association offered to host the next National Championship at Bangalore, but they are yet to get even acknowledgement from the IOA.

India is likely to visit Russia in a month’s time, but everyone is groping in dark on the choice of chief coach. Bureaucracy in both Sports Ministry and the Sports Authority of India seem to entertain a sort of aversion for Ric Charlesworth. The new policy makers on the other hand are misled by the same old selfish elements, who in their coaching turn failed miserably. Due to such a mindblock and indecision despite paying a whopping sum every month, Charlesworth’s services are not availed.

Md. Aslam, convener of the ad-hoc committee, confides that the chief coach and other issues will be decided after the Hyderabad Junior Asia Cup. It means another month will be lost before all other issues get a look. This event based ad hoc approach has been our bugbear and it refuses to go even now.

At this juncture, all concerned should understand one reality. None of the hockey’s problem started with KPS Gill and as such will not fade away with his exit.

[Stan_Savljevic]

I was looking at the cost of astro-turf laying in India. Found this resource that says

Initial Field Cost $750,000
Down Payment $75,000 (10%)
Amount Financed $675,000
Fixed Semi-Annual Payment $66,000 (10%)

Clicky
Offers three choices for laying, one in US, Oz and Netherlands. Seems like an active strategy to keep the Asians away from hockey by raising the cost. Amazing. I mean, given the gang-up on us for so long, it is amazing that we have been doing as well as we have. Thats all I can say.

There is no corporation in India that can manufacture artificial turf. However, there is no reason why that should be the case.

Using the technology of fiber manufacturing, textile fabrication and carpet technology, using the principles of polymer and material science, and employing chemical, civil and mechanical engineers, it is entirely possible for an Indian company to indigenously manufacture an artificial turf system.

If a company does rise up to the challenge, there is a large untapped market in India. Note that countries like Germany, Holland and England, all the size of Maharashtra, have hundreds of artificial turf fields. Schools and colleges in USA have artificial turf fields. It is possible that indigenous manufacture of artificial turf will bring down the cost of such fields, so that it would be possible for every district in every state in India, and for major university campuses to have all-year, all-weather artificial turf pitches. Artificial turf systems with the Made-in-India label can even be exported to Asian and other countries.

We hope that it is only a matter of time before an Indian industrial giant makes this vision into a reality.

And this "Looking ahead" was written at least 5 yrs before! And no company has ventured to even consider undertaking this project.

[Stan_Savljevic]

K. Murugan, Secretary, Volleyball Federation of India and Tamil Nadu Olympic Association, will be the chef de mission of the Indian contingent for the forthcoming Olympic Games at Beijing starting on August 8.

Clicky

Hesh and Lee lose in the finals. Bad luck and poor form on the day seems to have undone them. Lets see the next tournament where they participate.

[Singha]

JANE McGrath, the wife of cricket great, Glenn McGrath, passed away at her home this morning her management company said.

Mrs McGrath had battled cancer for a number of years.

In the statement her management company released, it said: "With Glenn and their two children by her side, Jane's wonderful life ended peacefully after a sudden decline in her health over the past week. "

Mrs McGrath, 42, had surgery earlier in the year and was recovering before complications set in.

She has two children, James and Holly.

Mrs McGrath was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1996. She fought a secondary cancer in her hip and in 2006 was diagnosed with a brain tumour.

[Stan_Savljevic]

Indians dominate Asian GP 1st leg, women relay team wins gold

The womens relay team still has two chances to pip the chicoms from the post. We need to get to 3:30 to qualify. With Mandeep Kaur back in peak health, that will be quite possible in the next two legs. I want this team to get to the finals at Beijing, very possible if one more than just Mandeep does a sub-53 pace.

Indian boxers dominated the Chemistry Cup in Halle, Germany with the Olympic qualified duo of Vijender (75kg) and Jitender (51kg) grabbing gold medals in the event.

Clicky
Go Vijender. He is an awesome bet at Beijing. I will be disappointed if he gets off without a medal. Not to be left behind,

"It was a good experience and I always knew that my boys will do well. Jitender beat two Olympic qualified boxers while Vijender also beat some tough rivals to win the gold medals," Sandhu told PTI from Halle.

Striker Surinder Kaur will lead an 18-member Indian women’s hockey team in two four-nation tournaments in the Netherlands and Germany in the next fortnight.

Chief coach: M.K. Kaushik, Coach: Vasu Thapliyal, Video Analyst: Rajinder Kumar, Physiotherapist: Aditya Shanker, Judge: Sharda Sharma, Umpire: P.S.Anupama.

The reason I cnp-ed the above was to show that video analyst has become common even in the women's circle these days. Chak de, ladies. Where is the sports psychologist though? Every Oiropean team has one, even the womens team!

Rising star Armaan Ebrahim won the Grand Race of the fourth round of the Formula Renault V6 Championship at Sepang in Malaysia on Sunday.

While Force India totters with being Indian only in ownership and name, here is one of the Coimbatore driving school products' coming to terms with talent. Narain, woher art thou?

Mahesh and Leander will play Wimbledon with different partners the coming week (or two), depending on outcomes. This could have been an even better experience pairing up instead of just the indy-masters prior to OG. But then commitments before the start of the year must have led them to separate partners. But given that they knew a priori that OG was on the cards and the timeline for that, and the fact that they were most likely to pair up at Beijing irrespective of hyperbole to the contrary, why the fck on earth could nt their commitments before the start of the year avoided Wimbledon? Hmm, given a prior notice any decent ATP player would be ok with experience for OG, no?! The way these guys hate each other, ah jeez, words are harder to explain my anger and pain at seeing the best pair to have walked Indian tennis dump their superior talents to the trashcan in lieu of ego. We have been cursed, verily so. Either the basket is dry or when it is full, ego comes before talent. Only God can save this nation.

[hnair]

(Lest we forget later, when we see an Indian TV show where the contestants wear nut-splitter langoties....... )
Japanese game shows coming to America

LOS ANGELES - A grown man wearing a diaper is spun around until he can barely stand , then is made to try an obstacle course carrying pitchers of milk without spilling any. Another man, dressed like an insect, flings himself onto a giant-sized "windshield" with a giant-sized "splat."
ADVERTISEMENT

Is American television going crazy? No — American television is going Japanese.

With the increasing popularity of YouTube clips from Japanese game shows such as "Endurance," "Hole in the Wall" and "Human Tetris," U.S. networks — never shy about imitation — are bringing similar antics to their prime-time schedules.

On Tuesday, ABC is airing back-to-back premieres of "Wipeout" (8 p.m EDT) and "I Survived a Japanese Game Show" (9 p.m. EDT), with a domestic edition of "Hole in the Wall" coming this fall on Fox.

The Americans gets "inspiration" from everywhere. Like the Indian mafia, they run this "inspiration" through their entertainment industry laundromat ("add a dash of Neilsen, here a pinch of college jargon" etc) and we get crispy white "American Entertainment". They make huge profits out of such "inspirations". And it is ok. Unlike us Indians, who gets dissed by other Indians who about "Bollywood following Hollywood onlee. Hopeless! Nonsense!".

Of course, the gorarticle above goes on to do piskology of what is wrong with the japanese culture. This coming from a place where they deep fry Snickers bar a la "country style" and go to a Jerry Springer or Oprah show in the hope of getting a free stomach stapling surgery.

[Stan_Savljevic]

1 Ladies' Singles - 1st Rnd.
Catalina Castano (COL) v. Sania Mirza (IND)[32]
Court 11, 12:00 noon match-time

Prakash Amritraj went out in the 2nd round qualifying. We dont have depth in mens tennis to handle Davis Cup for the next n years. The Japs seem to be blossoming with teenage sensation, Kei Nishikori. May not be too long before we start losing DC rubbers to Japan, unless we infuse fresh blood. We already are very vulnerable of DC matches in Japan. I am worried about all these Asia-Oceania rounds and the slice of the draw that we have to face as soon as Hesh and Lee are out, given that Uzb, Kaz, Kor, Jap, Nzl, Twn can and have beaten us in the last 2-3 yrs. Why even the pukes harassed us 2 yrs back? We dont have depth. Rohan Bopanna, Prakash Amritraj, Harsh Mankad, Syed Fazaluddin {is he still around?!} et al, I have no idea if they can take us to the WG any time soon! They all seem too intent on playing politics in the Hesh vs Lee battle than in getting anywhere higher up the ladder.

What happened to that double NCAA champion, Ram something. Can we lure him given that the US DC team will be fully occupied for a while? Another loooooooong dry stretch awaits us like the mid-to-late 80s (post-father Amritraj era before the arrival of Paes and RK).

The state of womens tennis is even worse. Three years back, we used to have some news about Fed cup matches where India was sticking arnd with the big leaguers. Hardly any such news with sania often injuring her wrist {or is it her tendons} now. And I am tired of seeing her in the 31-34 WTA rankings. When I tracked her 1 1/2 yrs back, she was fighting fit with Virginia Razzano and Shahar Peer. Now both seem so high up the ladder.. Jeezus. A buncha jokers that run tennis associations in India.

[Stan_Savljevic]

Sania speaketh

How is the wrist? Was there any pain there, or was it the shoulder?

SANIA MIRZA: No, it was my pec, not my shoulder. It was like in front. But my wrist, I can't say that it's perfect. I mean, in terms of medically, yes, it's fine now. But I think whereas pain is concerned, I still have pain when I hit a late forehand because that's something that even the doctors have said, and I've spoken to some of the players who have had wrist surgery, and they've said that the pain stays. I mean, sometimes it goes away in three months, sometimes it takes eight months. So that's something that you kind of have to play through, so it's a new wrist so it's getting used to taking 100 mile‑an‑hour balls for over two hours.

But my recovery was great. I had a very good rehab. I don't know if anyone else ‑‑ and everyone is so surprised to see me here because it's not even ‑‑ it's been ten weeks since surgery, and I'm already playing in a Slam. I think these are the positives that I take, and I definitely think it was a great decision for me to do that surgery in the middle of the year, even though missing a Slam.

Do you have any of that similar sort of feeling here with the British Asians?

SANIA MIRZA: There's so many here. I usually play on a show court in London all the time because we're so many Indians{H&D loss for the Wimbledon organizers} and we're everywhere, which is a great thing. There's so much support when I play, and yeah, it does feel very good that you're playing a Slam and you have some supporters behind you.

{The customary rabble-rousing from the ah-so-great colonial wimps, and good to know that Globosport has educated Sania that it is better to parry aside some questions rather than feeling mehmaanish and answering them, and then worrying about who blows what to what not.}

Is it difficult being on a circuit where women do flaunt themselves with their clothes?
SANIA MIRZA: I don't think I would like to answer any questions about my religion or anything of that sort.

Clicky

The DDM press has dubbed Bopanna-Aisam-ul-Haq Qureishi as the Indo-Pak express.

[Stan_Savljevic]

Whoa, we have some match fixing news here. Quoting in full due to the seriousness of the allegations.

Even if the Malays played below par, is this whole BS not a Malaysian problem? Unless Indians also received cash to win . Which is not even the contention here. We played fair and square and won. Whatever was put on the field, we handled it and went to the finals. So why are these Indian news agencies making it sound like India should feel guilty about this incident. The stupidity of DDM in shifting the ball to India's court is worth taking a bamboo jhapad and thulping all their collective derrieres, till they never commit such asinine and provacative errors .
Clicky

India-Malaysia Match Fixing? (6/25/2008)

This was going on last 4,5 days in Malaysia, but gets prominence today in India, with a news agency flashing it.

Recently, Malay Mail came out with a series of reveleations to the effect that they put the Malaysian players and coaches in a spot. Web sites picked up from there and the end result the burden is beginning to weigh on Indian hockey right now.

The question now is, was India-Malaysia match played on May 17, on the penultimate day of the Azlan Shah Cup, fixed? That was India's fourth straight win that enabled India to reach the final.

This writer was the only Indian journalist there in Ipoh, covering the tournament for the New Indian Express and for Press Trust of India.

On the face of it the issue seems to be the handiwork of those who oppose the present coaching staff, especially in the light of Malaysian team's utter failure in the last Asian Games and Japan Olympic Qualifier.

I will come out with my views later, before that have a look at what Indian agency released today that set the television sets on fire.

Kuala Lumpur, Jun 25 (PTI) A concerned International Hockey Federation (FIH) will wait for the full facts to come out before taking action into the match-fixing allegations in the Azlan Shah match between Malaysia and India.

Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) had lodged a police complaint on Friday after tabloid 'Malay Mail' published a report claiming that several Malaysian players had fixed a match against India in the Azlan Shah Cup as they had placed online bets on Malaysia losing the last round-robin game.

MHF had also started their own investigation on the allegations regarding the match which India had prevailed 2-1 over Malaysia on May 17.

FIH claimed that they were in the dark over the allegations of match fixing but would look into it after the investigations are over.

"This is the first time we have heard of such allegations. We compliment the Malaysian Hockey Federation for their prompt action and will wait for the results of the investigation," FIH president Els van Breda Vriesman was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

According to the tabloid, chief coach Sarjit Singh and his assistant coaches were seen at the Pudu police station on Tuesday, but the investigating officer of the case said the coaches had come on their own accord to make a police report similar to the one made by MHF secretary Hashim Yusoff.

The officer added police would speak to more players and others, including a 'Malay Mail' journalist, to assist in the investigations.

Note: s2h editor, being the lone Indian journalist covering the tournament, will come out with his views on the matter tomorrow, as is presently busy doing write up for newspapers and other media.

[Tamang]

Half of English team willing to retire for IPL

London, Jun 24 (PTI) Half of the cricketers in the current English team are ready to give up their international careers for the six-figure salaries on offer at the Indian Premier League (IPL), a survey has revealed.

In an annual poll of the 16 current players, conducted by the Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA), eight said they were happy to cut short their national career and play in the multi-million-dollar league in India.

PCA chairman Dougie Brown described the findings as "extremely worrying" but felt the England and Wales Cricket Board's refusal to allow players to participate in league was actually to be blamed for such attitude.

"You can't blame the England players for thinking that way. We're all in the game for a short period of time, and those people who spend a lot of time travelling the globe must find the idea of the IPL very appealing," he was quoted as saying 'The Daily Telegraph'.

"These guys will be faced with the choice of spending 300 days away a year, or going to India for six weeks, and getting paid the same if not more money. There will be a fair bit of pressure coming from the family," he added.

No English player, except for Dimitri Mascherenas, participated in this year's IPL but the number is expected to increase in the next edition with top stars like Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff tipped to join the league.

"The majority of the England players have been in contact with us," says IPL commissioner Lalit Modi. PTI

Kya se kya ho gaya........

[Stan_Savljevic]

Anand spoofing crikkit in an ad for AMD.

Sania playing second rd as of now. Lets see if she gets on course 2 meet Venus Williams. She is getting drubbed in the first set. On course for 0-6! Yaa allah, another blow-hot blow-cold day from Sania.

And rightly so, A. K. Bansal and Aslam Sher Khan have said Indian hockey has nothing to do with floppy performance of Malaysian team at Azlan. Clicky

[Singha]

I remember when Sania and jelena jankovic started out they both reached in 30s.
then jankovic reached the 15-20 range while sania was still in 30s.
now jankovic is in top5...

[Stan_Savljevic]

Happy to report the "almost qualification" of the womens 4x400 relay team, unless some miracle happens.

Indian women 4x400m relay team qualified for the Beijing Olympic Games after giving a brilliant display by clocking 3:28.29s in the second leg of Asian Grand Prix at Korat, Thailand on Thursday.

The team of Chitra K Soman, Raja M Pooyamma, Mandeep Kaur and S Geetha ensured that they are among the World's top 16 teams which will run in Beijing Olympics this August. They were followed by China (3:29.75s) and Thailand (3:38.76s) on the second and third spot respectively.

Indian team had finished on seventh place in Athens Olympics in 2004 and since then, the team was on the winning spree on the continental level with title at Asian Games 2006, Asian Championships 2007 and silver in Commonwealth Games 2006.

Slowdown in timing in 2007 raised doubt over team's performance but it was largely due to transition of runners from junior to senior level. Emergence of Mandeep Kaur and Sini Jose and consistent performance from Chitra Soman brought back the team in winning gear in 2008.

National record holder Manjit Kaur who attained B qualification in Yalta got injured during Madurai Nationals and Thursday's race was without Manjit {Soooooper} but still the team managed to register best timings since Athens 2004. {With Manjit, we can target 3:25, that will mean we are good bets for top 4. And if one of the firm favorites fck it up, a bronze is realistic. Nice. Goal is to translate that dream to paper.}

As per Olympic qualification rule, average of two best performances of 2007 and 2008 will be considered and with today's performance India's average is 3:30.42s (3:32.55s in Bangkok and 3:28.20s in Korat) which still place India on 14th place in World top 16 teams. It's now better than 14th placed Italy team.

[Stan_Savljevic]

A. K. Bansal, chief coach of the junior team headed for Asia cup and the coach of the team that was at Azlan, speaketh on the match fixing claim:

“No doubt it was a crucial match for us to qualify. But the fact that the Malaysians lost four matches before that and were a very ordinary team, is being conveniently forgotten,” he said.

“It certainly demoralises me to hear these reports — especially considering the fact that Indian hockey is looking up in recent months. Let me make it clear that we were not even aware of such a thing leave alone being part of the ugly controversy,” Bansal said.
No negative impact

Questioned whether the issue would have an impact on the Indian team training here (as more than 10 members of that Azlan Shah team are in the ongoing camp), Bansal replied in the negative. “The players seem to be least bothered by the controversy. But, what is of concern to me is the fact that the brilliant performance of the Indians in the Azlan Shah Trophy would be undermined for no fault of my boys. That is the saddest thing,” added Bansal.

Yes sir, please return with the gold from Asia cup.

Both Sania and Saina {Nehwal of badminton fame} keep breaking my heart with losses from the unimaginable end.

[Singha]

watched sania muff up around 5 matchpoints yesterday. she has the strength but not the
planning and angles at present. was hitting it mostly to center of the opposite court.
need to be bit more mobile too.
else she cannot be a top20 player thats for sure.

in tennis we have to compete in the "running game" of the EU heavies. the court
is large and angles many.

[Stan_Savljevic]

Indian women’s hockey team, playing in the four-nation tournament in the Netherlands, is in disarray without a coach or a manager as M K Kaushik is missing from the contingent because his employer did not clear him to accompany the squad for the 22-day Europe tour. The absence of the chief coach became more blatant in Rotterdam as India were thrashed 0-2 by Great Britain in their opening encounter on Tuesday. Kaushik said his employer Haryana Sports Department was yet to clear his name and without their clearance, sanctioning of leave and permission to leave the country was not possible.

“The IWHF has got my visa and other papers cleared. The moment I get the clearances from my department I will leave at the next available flight,” Kaushik said. But he refused to give any appropriate time as to when he will get all these clearances. The Indian Women’s Hockey Federation, however, did not feel it important to send a manager with the 18-member team led by Surinder Kaur, which left for the Netherlands on Monday night.

However, with Kaushik uncertain to join the team, Thapliyal’s dual job as a coach and manager is a matter of conjecture. Kaushik had also attended only concluding two days’ of a month-long open trials last month at Lucknow soon after the Indian team returned from the Kazan Olympic qualifiers. When contacted, director sports, Haryana sports department, Sudir Mohan said the Haryana government has released him on long-term basis. According to Sports Authority of India sources, the SAI is willing to take Kaushik on deputation but that will take a couple of months to materialise. “We have asked for two months leave from Haryana government before we finalise rules and regulation,” a SAI official said.

Ah, the good old, push the ball from court to court till either the gravity of the situation diminishes or the guy gets too tired. How will the hockey ladies "Chak de" without a coach in their midst? Pitiable.
Clicky

Meet the Beijing bound womens TT player, Neha Aggarwal

[vishnur]

Somdev Devverman, the future of Indian Mens Tennis, has started his full time Pro Career this week at the age of 23. Intro on this guy for those who don't know -

At $15k Rochester - Clay Courts

[R1] Somdev Dev Varman (793, IND) d Adolfo Gomez-Pinter (926, ESP) 6-0 6-0
[R2] Somdev Dev Varman (793, IND) d Justin Kranouge (1686, USA) 6-0 6-0
[QF] Somdev Dev Varman (793, IND) Vs Artem Sitak (321, RUS)

[Sriram]

Stan,

Sorry for the delay. The players were from the 80's.

Thanks!

[Vasu]

Thanks for the link stan. sorry havent been online in quite a while.

There seems to be enough Sania whine here already, so I don't want to add to it, but the fact is that she has cut herself off from the media to a large extent, but I am still not sure if she is using this time to devote herself with full mind and body to the game.

However, the "after Sania" group looks promising to me. They are playing more tennis and being reported in the media. Sunitha Rao, the Bhambhri sisters, Tara Iyer and others. We'll have to see how good Somdev is, because a crop of current Indian players have played for college in the US, but they are nowhere in the rankings.

[vishnur]

At 120K Thailand GP GOLD 2008,

[R1] Saina NEHWAL (IND,23) bt (8) Elizabeth CANN (ENG,24) 21-13 21-5
[R2] Saina NEHWAL (IND,23) bt Nguyen Nhung LE NGOC (VIE,72) 21-9 21-6
[QF] Saina NEHWAL (IND,23) l (1) Xingfang XIE (CHN,1) 16-21 17-21

Saina now moves to a Career high ranking of #21

Now coming to Somdev again

[QF] Somdev Dev Varman (793, IND) d Artem Sitak (321, RUS) 6-2 6-2

Yeah many players have played US College tennis, but hardly any has been a Singles winner. Somdev has made it to the finals 3 times out of the 4 yrs of college. The player whom Somdev beat twice last year in College has become top-100 player within one year - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Isner

Will update the results on Somdev after the final is done

[Stan_Savljevic]

There seems to be enough Sania whine here already, so I don't want to add to it, but the fact is that she has cut herself off from the media to a large extent, but I am still not sure if she is using this time to devote herself with full mind and body to the game.

she has gone through some horrible things for the last three years now. first year, she had a problem with her ankle, and the last two years, she has been recovering from some kinda reconstructive surgery or the other. that may explain why she has been swinging around the mid-30s on the wta calendar for so long when also-rans and peers (no pun, intended) have risen higher in the stockade. ever noticed why venus williams before her injuries was not the same as the one after. i guess it has more also to do with mental state of things. once you become a "repeat victim for the knife", you stop playing a brash level of strokes and go for the most defensive culling. in some sense, sania has stopped being what she was 3 yrs back. she has cut down on her full range of play, thats my impression. the confidence and body language dont look like its great. with one or 2 good results, may be she ll start swinging upwards from her eternal abode of the mid-30s.

while i agree that there is more to indian womens tennis than just sania, they are nowhere near her in wta rankings or talent level, as of now. sania has been riding her talent to the max so far. after that point, the climb has more to do with translating talent and technique through hard work + luck in terms of health. that luck factor is missing in her profile as yet.

sania has also kept aloof from the ddm. the earlier short skirt fatwa has made her more circumspect in that aspect, but she said in a recent interview that "she could laugh at the whole incident as a `growing up' thingie". she sounds infinitely more mature than she did 2-3 years back.. that is a welcome change, for once.