Indian Sports and Entertainment Industry

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IndraD
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Re: Indian Sports and Entertainment Industry

Post by IndraD »

Md Amir the Pakistani bowler took early retirement at an age of 27 and has applied for UK citizenship. He wants to play for vitality blast (England T20 leagues) and if possible for England :shock:
Following his foot steps some other players already have put in their words to retire early and marry a British Pakistani asap.
Md Amir was found guilty of spot fixing at an age of 18 by London court. He was spared jail but spent some time in young offender rehab in Britain.
Bart S
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Re: Indian Sports and Entertainment Industry

Post by Bart S »

IndraD wrote:Md Amir the Pakistani bowler took early retirement at an age of 27 and has applied for UK citizenship. He wants to play for vitality blast (England T20 leagues) and if possible for England :shock:
Following his foot steps some other players already have put in their words to retire early and marry a British Pakistani asap.
Md Amir was found guilty of spot fixing at an age of 18 by London court. He was spared jail but spent some time in young offender rehab in Britain.
He probably found that life in a White Paki jail was still better than the situation in actual Paki country.
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Post by Vips »

How can UK allow somebody to become a permanent resident or citizen when he has been a cheat and has done jail time? In the US if a person is involved in a crime or acts of moral terpitude then it is enough grounds to deny citizenship or even cancellation of permanent residency/citizenship.
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Re: Indian Sports and Entertainment Industry

Post by Raveen »

Vips wrote:How can UK allow somebody to become a permanent resident or citizen when he has been a cheat and has done jail time? In the US if a person is involved in a crime or acts of moral terpitude then it is enough grounds to deny citizenship or even cancellation of permanent residency/citizenship.

If the UK held high moral standards they wouldn't have caused so many deaths...nor would they have let in so many Pakis
Suraj
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Re: Indian Sports and Entertainment Industry

Post by Suraj »

Please keep to thread topic.
Suraj
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Post by Suraj »

^^
They beat the former world number 1s from Korea and then the current world champions Liu Yuchen and Li Junhui from China to win . Quite a pathbreaking result for them!
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Post by Ashokk »

Wrestler Deepak Punia becomes junior World champion
NEW DELHI: Grappler Deepak Punia on Wednesday became India's first junior World Champion in 18 years after he claimed a gold medal at the junior worlds with a win over Russia's Alik Shebzukhov at Tallinn, Estonia.
The score was tied 2-2 at the end of the 86kg men's freestyle bout but the Indian was declared champion because he had scored the last point.
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Re: Indian Sports and Entertainment Industry

Post by Picklu »

Indian cyclists win historic gold at World Junior Track Cham ..

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/spo ... 687077.cms
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Re: Indian Sports and Entertainment Industry

Post by Supratik »

I am loosing track of Indian junior world champions.
Suraj
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Post by Suraj »

Our youngsters fear no one anymore . There was a time when we barely registered at continental level. Even seniors would go and do weakly and say it’s because of ‘lack of exposure’ .

Now, surprise - we have not just a junior cycling team, but one good enough to wrest the world title from superpowers like Germany (4th), UK (3rd) and Australia (2nd) . Not just that but they won the team sprint title . Unlike some other track cycling events that involve guile and tactics, team sprint is brute force fastest time to do X laps (two in this case) - team time is that of the slowest rider. Australia won the first lap but we shocked them in the second winning by <0.1 seconds .

These countries dominate track cycling, with China alone among Asian countries scoring some titles, but in women’s . We won the marquee men’s team world title instead . The others are probably stunned thinking - ‘WtF ? India have a good cycling team ?? No ones heard of them before!’ But then Indians are probably equally surprised .

Looks like they followed up the gold with a bronze in individual pursuit the next day . The first two medals ever won by India in UCI world level competitions .
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Re: Indian Sports and Entertainment Industry

Post by Suraj »

Esow Alben followed up gold in men’s team sprint and bronze in men’s individual keirin with silver in men’s individual sprint.

He won the silver in 2018 as well - one of the most promising and powerful junior track sprinters in the world .

Individual sprint unlike team sprint is a cat and mouse tactical game . He has the power but needs better coaching for tactical skill . This was him last year blowing thru the field and finishing 2nd by less than half a wheel:
Suresh S
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Re: Indian Sports and Entertainment Industry

Post by Suresh S »

kapil was a great cricketer but not very smart, sorry to say. appointment of this drunken oaf shastri is bad for Indian cricket and also continuing with kohli as captain specially in the T20 and T50 over format is not good. These 2 have managed to screw Indian cricket royally. What to say of the so called supreme court, which is full of traitors. India will not win anything important with these 2 in charge. Rohit sharma should be captain in shorter formats and if I was in charge across all formats. Kohli is a great batsman but bad captain. Kohli,s recent attempts to stay in the news constantly are signs of nervousness not confidence.
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Post by darshan »

100m in around 11 sec...
India is blessed with talented individuals. Provided with right opportunity & right platform, they'll come out with flying colours to create history!

Urge @IndiaSports
Min. @KirenRijiju
ji to extend support to this aspiring athlete to advance his skills!

Thanks to @govindtimes
.
https://mobile.twitter.com/chouhanshivr ... 8867423232
Picklu
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Post by Picklu »

Now if we can crack the swimming scene some how, i can crow from the rooftop that we have truly arrived in the sports arena. I can even ignore our not so good football team (so hard for a bong).....
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Post by Suraj »

Hat-trick on a bike! Esow Alben writing a golden chapter in India's cycling history
Here's what the teenage prodigy's resume reads like so far: ..
- 18 years old
- 6 gold medals in Asian Track Championships
- 4 medals in Junior Track World Championships (1S in 2018, 1G, 1S, 1B in 2019)
- First Indian to win an international cycling medal
- World No. 1 in junior Men's Keirin rankings
- World No. 1 in junior Men's Sprint rankings
Keirin is the event in the video above, where a scooter paces the riders around and then they race a few laps. It's a tactical game, but finishing power can do a lot - Esow would have won one more gold had the finish line been 5 meters further, just because of his enormous momentum. He has had a role in all of India's world championship medals:
2018 Keirin individual silver
2019 Sprint team gold
2019 Keirin individual bronze
2019 Sprint individual silver

The young fella is a serious medal contender in the 2024 Olympics if he keeps going like this. The Indian men's team sprint time was just 0.4 seconds slower than the world record set by the Russians recently - they had a slow 13.3s first lap (slower than the 2nd placed Australians) but demonstrated great ability to increase momentum to below 13s in the 2nd lap, while the Australians were consistent at just above 13s in both laps.

Their 44.6 second total time in context: the junior world record is 44.2 seconds (Russia). There's a good chance these guys will break it before they age out of junior category - they are already world champions.

The senior world record is 42.4 seconds (Great Britain). the senior Asian record is 43.1s (Japan). The Indian juniors currently hold the Asian junior record. They've improved their time by 1.5 seconds in the past year or so. Improvement from this point is not linear, but 43.5 seconds is possible, and would be well within both Olympic and senior world championship medal performance level - up to semifinal at OG level teams ride between 43-44 seconds typically, and then they try to gun it below 43s for medal positions.
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Re: Indian Sports and Entertainment Industry

Post by SBajwa »

http://hockeyindia.org/news/indian-wome ... china.html



Tokyo (Japan), 20 August 2019: After an impressive performance against the World No. 2 Australian side on Sunday where they managed a 2-2 draw, the Indian Women’s Hockey team today put in a tough shift to secure their place in the Final of the Olympic Test Event as they played out a 0-0 draw against World No. 11 China here at the Oi Hockey Stadium.

The Indian team looked in good rhythm during the initial stages of the first quarter, and constantly built pressure on the Chinese defense. The World No. 10 side looked comfortable in possession, and rotated the ball well to threaten their opponents in the opening 10 minutes, which also reflected when they won their first Penalty Corner of the match in the 8th minute. India’s Penalty Corner expert, Gurjit Kaur, stepped up to take the set-piece, but could not find the back of the net as the Chinese Goalkeeper Dongxiao Li deflected the ball away from danger. China looked to attack the Indians on the counter, but could not find an opening in the first quarter as the scores remained 0-0.

India started the second quarter also with great attacking flair, and won themselves their second Penalty Corner in the 17th minute. Gurjit Kaur tried to aim for the other side this time, but her try was again denied by Li. The following minutes saw both the teams battle it out in midfield, with neither team giving much space and time to their opponents in the final third. Some impressive performances in defense for both the teams meant that it remained goal-less at the half-time break.

China needed the victory to make sure that they progress to the Final of the competition but India’s defense was up to the task, and seemed determined to consolidate their position at the top of the points table. The third quarter saw China coming close to taking the lead in the 41st minute through their first Penalty Corner, but Indian Goalkeeper Savita made a great save to deny her opponents, and the defense cleared the ball. It was a moment which could have turned the match around, but the 29-year-old Indian made sure that China could not take an important lead.

A similar moment took place in the last quarter as well when China were awarded their second Penalty Corner in the 47th minute, but Savita came to India’s rescue again and denied the World No. 11 team. India also had a few chances to take the lead in the following minutes, but could not find the breakthrough as Chinese defended well. The situation became quite tense for both the teams in the last few minutes of the match, but it was China who won themselves back-to-back Penalty Corners with just two minutes remaining on the clock. However, the Indian defense stood up to the task and managed to block the first attempt, and then Savita saved the second PC to earn her team a much deserved draw, and with it, a place in the Final.

With a tally of five points from their three matches, the Indian Women’s Team topped the points table, and will now face hosts and World No. 14 Japan in the Final of the Olympic Test Event on Wednesday, 21st August 2019 at 16.15 hrs IST.
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Re: Indian Sports and Entertainment Industry

Post by Suraj »

HS Prannoy beat 5 time world champion Lin Dan in the R32 of the ongoing Badminton World Championship. Other players are also making their way through. Our new mens doubles stars though, aren't in the fray - they withdrew due to an injury to Satwiksairaj.
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Post by wasu »

Prannoy's problem always has been consistency. Every time he beat a top player in the past, he lost to a low ranked one in the subsequent rounds. Hope he does better this time. Satwik injured his shoulder in the thai open semi-final. He still played in the final (he switched position with Chirag playing in the back) and won their first major title. So, no surprise they pulled out.
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Post by Suraj »

Indian men's hockey team thrashed NZ 5-0 in the final to win the Olympic test event.

Added: Women's team also won the Olympic test event, beating hosts Japan 2-1 in the final.
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Re: Indian Sports and Entertainment Industry

Post by Parasu »

Suraj wrote:HS Prannoy beat 5 time world champion Lin Dan in the R32 of the ongoing Badminton World Championship. Other players are also making their way through. Our new mens doubles stars though, aren't in the fray - they withdrew due to an injury to Satwiksairaj.
Lin Dan has become old and slow, although still a formidable opponent.
Prannoy doesnt have the endurance to last the tournament. That is his problem. Srikanth is our best bet in MS. Unfortunately, he has just too many mental strength issues. I hope he rakes in enough points for the Olympics. He does play with a lot of fire there.
More importantly, we need to have our next line of players ready. I dont see too many of them coming up and thats worrying.
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Re: Indian Sports and Entertainment Industry

Post by Suraj »

Prannoy looks a little leaner than in the past, in the game against LD. Maybe he's shed some excess pounds and gone the Virat Kohli way, or maybe not. I can't argue with the claim that he's never been consistent or shown the ability to last a tournament - both are true from his historical results.

Kidambi it seems has been unable to finetune his physical and mental strength to build upon his excellent 2017 season. Momota came back from injury to dominate the scene since 2018. The Japanese are working hard on building badminton bench strength for Tokyo 2020.
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Re: Indian Sports and Entertainment Industry

Post by Parasu »

Prannoy said in an interview that he started weight training late in his career. As a result he suffers from many injuries. His assessment of himself is quite accurate. The lack of development of lean muscle mass leads to endurance and fitness issues in elite sports.
That is why imho, Srikanth is a special talent. Its sad to see him not winning more often. And I blame the coaching staff for not telling him what he should be doing. He has the best attacking game in the world, but he instead plays like a deceptive strokeplayer and falters. Gopichand is trying to mold Srikanth into himself and thats just too bad.
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Re: Indian Sports and Entertainment Industry

Post by SBajwa »

Parasu wrote:Prannoy said in an interview that he started weight training late in his career. As a result he suffers from many injuries. His assessment of himself is quite accurate. The lack of development of lean muscle mass leads to endurance and fitness issues in elite sports.
That is why imho, Srikanth is a special talent. Its sad to see him not winning more often. And I blame the coaching staff for not telling him what he should be doing. He has the best attacking game in the world, but he instead plays like a deceptive strokeplayer and falters. Gopichand is trying to mold Srikanth into himself and thats just too bad.

Sir thank you. Please convey to Srikanth that he has fans larger than much much larger than he has in his mind
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Re: Indian Sports and Entertainment Industry

Post by Parasu »

He is out. Couldnt watch the match. It was on court 4. No tv camera there.
I hope he is not carrying any injuries.
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Re: Indian Sports and Entertainment Industry

Post by Supratik »

Sai Praneeth, Sindhu through to semis.
Suraj
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Post by Suraj »

Fantastic news to see Sindhu fight back and beat her nemesis Tai Tzu Ying . Sai Praneeth does one better than Gopichand to become India’s first MS world medalist since Padukone .
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Re: Indian Sports and Entertainment Industry

Post by KJo »

Sumit Nagal wins 3 matches in the US Open Tennis qualifiers to earn a spot in the Main Draw. He joins Prajnesh Gunneswaran as the 2 Indians in the main. I think the last time we had 2 was in the Amritraj-Krishnan era of the 80s.

Image

Gunneswaran has a tough 1st round, he plays No 5 Medvedev. Let's see whom Nagal plays.

Nagal is the new tennis hope. He is 22 years old and is rising. Ramanathan seems to be disappointing lately and Gunneswaran had a great 2018 but 2019 has not been very good. He is 30.

Final point.
https://twitter.com/MRisingStar18/statu ... 7123769344
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Post by hanumadu »

Ramkumar Ramanathan shifted from a base line game to serve and volley a year or two ago. Strange, considering there is no other player who serves and volleys anymore, at least not in the top 100. Tennis has been a great disappointment. Yuki Bambri seemed to be injured as his last game was in october last year.
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Post by KJo »

OMG, Nagal plays Roger Federer in the 1st Round! Maybe the worst possible matchup for him. :(( :((
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Post by tandav »

He is blessed to share the hallowed grounds with FedEx and gets an opportunity to match up to the world's best. Win or Loose he will learn at what levels do world champion's play.
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Post by Vips »

PV Sindhu storms into third successive final at BWF World Championships.
India's PV Sindhu stood one win away from an elusive World Championships gold medal after storming into her third successive final with a straight-game win over All England champion Chen Yu Fei here on Saturday.

Sindhu, who had claimed successive silver in the last two editions of the prestigious tournament beside two bronze, was a picture of perfection as
she outclassed world No. 3 Chen of China 21-7, 21-14 in a 40-minute semifinal.

The 24-year-old from Hyderabad will face either 2013 world champion Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand or 2017 winner Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in the summit clash on Sunday.

It was Sindhu all the way in the first game. Making her opponent scurry for cover in the four parts of the court, Sindhu finished the first game in just 15 minutes. Packing her smashes with enormous power, most over 350 kmph, :shock: Sindhu went into the break with a 11-3 lead.
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Post by Suraj »

Sindhu plays Nozomi Okuhara in the final. A rematch of the legendary 2017 final - the longest WC match ever played. Chance for Sindhu to gain revenge at this level. Sindhu has made all of the last 3 WC women's finals. Lost the last two. Chance to redeem herself. She also has 5 WC medals - the most in women's singles history along with the legendary Zhang Ning. She's in great form, massacring the new Chinese player Yufei in the semis. Gopichand has hired a Korean female coach to help, and it's showing in Sindhu's play. She no longer waits out rallies and loses focus. The Korean will have extra motivation to help see her ward beat a Japanese.
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Re: Indian Sports and Entertainment Industry

Post by Suraj »

Breaking the cycle
Not too long ago, India had one dust-ridden velodrome, no qualified coaches, few cyclists and five bicycles. Then a retired Air Force HR manager took under his wings a group of athletes with a promise to make them elite cyclists. The Indian Express meets the young world beaters pursuing a sport where India has virtually no history

Junior results generally spread optimism but are little tricky. Many a times, they turn out to be false dawns. But it is difficult to undermine or overlook the significance of this breakthrough performance. Not too long ago, the track inside India’s only world-class velodrome, the capital’s egg-shaped sports complex inside the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex that was built during the 2010 Commonwealth Games, was covered in a thick layer of dust.

There were no qualified coaches, few cyclists and barely enough bicycles. Fast forward five years, and India are top ranked and world champions in men’s junior team sprint. The top-ranked junior cyclist in individual sprint and keirin events, too, is an Indian – the prodigious teenager Esow – and Ronaldo, the world number 3 junior sprinter, is fast closing in on his teammate.

The growing presence at the top in juniors and consistent podium finishes, with timings that are respectable even at a senior level, points at the fact that this may, after all, might not be a flash in the pan. It took a retired Air Force Human Resources manager and his ragtag bunch of committed teenagers who were once into rowing, swimming, volleyball, football and track and field to script a turnaround in a sport that India has absolutely no history in.

That they defeated Australia, a track cycling superpower, to win their first gold medal made it a lot more laudable.

There’s this inspiring tradition in Australian cycling that all young pedal pushers from Down Under talk about. As a part of the initiation, they are asked to undertake a “Champions Walk” that takes them through the corridor in the bowels of the velodrome at their national training base in Adelaide. The walk takes them past a gallery which has pictures of the country’s legendary cyclists like Cadel Evans, Stuart O’Grady and Katherine Bates. It serves as inspiration for the younger generation as well as remind them of the legacy they need to carry forward.

There was a time, roughly about seven years ago, when the Indian cyclists walked at the IG Stadium velodrome they were greeted by decaying walls and an overpowering stench of urine. However, it wasn’t always like that at the country’s only cycling arena. It had seen better days. The IG Stadium velodrome was among the last projects to be initiated before the 2010 Commonwealth Games but one of the first to be ready. It was built in a mere 17 months at a reported cost of Rs 150 crore. It was also hailed as one of the best facilities in the world by cyclists from across the Commonwealth, and there was hope that it would become the home of Indian cycling.

However, once the Games were over, the place was turned into junk. In the aftermath of the CWG scandal, as the officials squabbled in courts, the government suspended the cycling federation. It stayed like that for almost two years after the CWG and the velodrome was locked. The timber track was wrapped in plastic sheets to ‘protect’ it from Delhi’s extreme weather pattern. The seats were broken and remains of dead pigeons were scattered around the stadium.

During his visit in 2012, the then International Cycling Union (UCI) president Pat McQuaid called it a ‘matter of shame’. His Asian counterpart, Hee Wok Cho, too put his disappointment on record, saying he was ‘not happy with the maintenance’ of the velodrome. “It (velodrome) was in shambles,” says Onkar Singh, the secretary general of the Cycling Federation of India. “We spent `2 lakh just on cleaning the stadium.”

That, however, was just one part of the mess. The federation had a grand total of five cycles at their disposal. But it wasn’t as if there were riders queuing up for those five rides – India did not even have that many talented cyclists who could pose a challenge in Asia, let alone the world. But even more worryingly, it seemed at the time there was no one in the country who had the knowledge to produce riders.

Some countries launch their youth programmes on the back of colossal failures, like German football did at the turn of the century. A few others build on their success, as was the case with Australia’s cycling programme after the 1984 Olympics. India’s push in cycling, however, was born out of extreme desperation.

Cycling is one of the most-watched, marquee sports at the Olympics that offers a bulk of medals. Curiously, not one Indian cyclist has qualified for the Games since Tokyo 1964. And even though it looks unlikely that the trend will change when Tokyo hosts its second Olympics next year, the wheels have at least been set in motion for the 2024 edition.

Indeed, it wasn’t without the good old bureaucracy leaving its mark. “From the time we first proposed this idea to the Sports Authority of India to when it was eventually approved, five director generals got changed. Every time we made a presentation, that DG would be shifted and we had to begin all over again,” Onkar says. It would’ve been funny if it wasn’t so frustrating. The federation’s idea was based largely on the journey of Andaman cyclist Deborah Herold – the 2004 tsunami survivor who splashed on to the scene by winning two gold medals at the 2014 Track Asia Cup. Onkar says Deborah, who started training in Delhi in 2011, was a ‘pilot project’. “We were looking for athletes in raw, untouched regions who could be trained at the centre in Delhi. Deborah was our pilot project. It succeeded and we wanted to expand it,” he says.

In 2014, two years after the proposal was first floated, things finally began to take shape. The UCI, SAI and cycling federation joined hands to launch a training centre in Delhi. The world body even donated 40 cycles to India. Now all that remained was to create a form pool virtually out of scratch. And they managed to do that just as easily as it sounds. “We looked at models of different countries before adopting England’s system and tweaking it a little based on our research. We decided to recruit a completely new bunch of riders. But we looked for athletes…” Onkar says, “…not cyclists.”

They first had to weed out the non-performers. And quite aptly, that task was taken up by a former Air Force HR manager, who was now the chief national sprints coach, RK Sharma. “Coaching seniors, I thought, was a waste of time because they had reached their limit,” says Sharma, who took a voluntary retirement from Air Force in 2013 to get a coaching diploma in cycling. “I had to tell them, ‘you can’t go beyond this level. So it’s better if you go for your studies or whatever else you want to pursue.’ We had to catch young athletes. Even if they couldn’t ride a cycle, it was okay.” It literally was like that.

When Nikita N queued up at the SAI Centre in Andaman for a selection test two years ago, she had no idea about the sport for which she was trying out. The then 15-year-old knew just two things: the scouts had come from Delhi and this was the only way for her to move to the Capital. It was only when the coaches went to Nikita’s house in Bombooflat to meet her parents and inform them about her selection that she got to know it was for cycling. “I did not even know cycling was a sport. I hardly cycled as a child… but that didn’t matter. I was excited just to go to Delhi,” she says.

This year, she won a silver medal in team sprint at the Junior Asian Track Championship, partnering Triyasha Paul, who was a 100m runner and long jumper before the federation and SAI’s talent spotters urged her to take up cycling. The country’s top cyclist and world’s best junior Esow was a rower in Port Blair before he switched to cycling after appearing for selection trials in 2014. His sprint teammate Keithellakpam Jemsh Singh, 19, was a volleyball player and had barely ridden a cycle before moving to Delhi. Yanglem Rojit Singh aspired to be a footballer while Ronaldo hoped to follow his father’s footsteps and take up a water sport.

“The talent spotters made us run 150m sprints, chin-ups, push-ups and 1600m runs. I didn’t know I was doing this for cycling and there was no way to guess it either because there wasn’t a cycle anywhere around,” Ronaldo says. Sharma, the chief sprints coach, says the trials were designed to test explosiveness and endurance. “We got normal athletes who didn’t even know how to ride a bicycle. Sprint is a straightforward event – you have to be faster than your competitor. So our team checks their physical capabilities. And for me, the most important requirement for me is, if he is overtaken by another rider toh uske tan badan mein aag lag jaani chahiye (then he should be infuriated),” Sharma says.

These cyclists formed the core junior group. They live at the SAI hostel next to the velodrome. Every weekend, teachers from a nearby school visit the trainees and offer them tuition. It is a rare break from their grueling training programme, which is strictly regimented.
Everyday, they spend hours on the cycle, hurtling down the track at blinding speed. In the gym, they lift upwards of 120kg in leg press, among other exercises, to get the muscular thighs they crave for — a cyclist’s thigh stands out just like a wrestler’s ear. The rest of the time is spent in recovery. And once they are back at the hostel, they are cut off from distractions.

During camp, the cyclists’ mobile phones are deposited with the coach, only allowed for a couple of hours every evening to talk with their friends and family. “If they keep the phone with them, they’ll be on social media till late in the night. For the kind of schedule they follow, it is very important that they rest well and recover. So no phones are allowed in the premises and at 9.30pm sharp, the lights are out,” Onkar says. There have been instances where those who’ve broken the curfew have been asked to leave the camp. “I understand it is a bit harsh. But if you want results, there has been to be a strict mechanism in place,” Onkar says.

The coach and federation take pride in the fact that, except the equipment, the entire programme is ‘made in India.’ The federation’s annual budget has gone up from `1 crore seven years ago to approximately `25 crore now. From five cycles, the federation now has 195 – each costing between `2 to 10 lakh. The sprint group, almost non-existent a few years ago, comprises 20 junior cyclists. “None of this would’ve been possible without the federation, SAI and Honda, one of our biggest supporters,” Sharma says.

For India, this is just a baby step into a blurry world where every millisecond matters. Cycling has morphed into a virtual arms race, with countries exploiting technology for marginal gains. From deploying methods like wind tunnel testing to wearing advanced skin suits and riding custom-made cycles, there’s an intense competition between national programmes.

You would assume that India, having warmed up to the sport so late and with a limited budget, already start with a massive disadvantage compared to the other nations. But in their projection to the sports ministry, the cycling federation has given in writing that they will win a medal at the 2024 Olympics.

For a country that has not been able to send a cyclist to Olympics for the last 55 years, it comes across as a rather bold and ambitious target. But Sharma is confident. “Why isn’t it possible? Till now no one could dream we could win a medal at a junior world championship. We did that without any external help or technology. We just had a velodrome, a few kids and a strong plan,” the 52-year-old says. His optimism rubs off on the cyclists. “2024… Surely. That’s my target,” Ronaldo says. “The way we are developing, it is a realistic goal too.” Just how good is the Brazilian football legend’s namesake at netting goals, though, remains to be seen.
Supratik
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Re: Indian Sports and Entertainment Industry

Post by Supratik »

Sukhbeer Singh and Raginee Markoo of India win the junior world championship in archery compound mixed event.

https://www.news18.com/news/sports/indi ... 82661.html
saip
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Post by saip »

Sindhu wins and how!!! She destroyed her opponent 21-7 21-7
saip
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Post by saip »

Match lasted barely half an hour
Supratik
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Post by Supratik »

Finally. Watched the game. She was brutal and clinical. The new Korean coach has made her play to her game which is controlled aggression.
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Post by Kashi »

Well done to Sindhu. She and Okuhara have an history and it's good to see her win deservingly and decisively.
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Re: Indian Sports and Entertainment Industry

Post by Suraj »

Wow, I expected Sindhu to win, but not to humiliate Okuhara like this. The men's final was equally onesided, but the loser was a much weaker opponent. Okuhara is former World and All England champion, and potentially their strongest contender at Tokyo 2020. This destruction will send them back to the drawing board. At least the defeat in 2017 has been duly avenged.

Finally Sindhu is playing like she should. Far taller than the east Asian energizer bunnies, she needs to use her reach and power instead of playing their waiting game. This final is something she should play on repeat - it shows how she can destroy extremely strong but short opponents by repeatedly using her physical strength and reach. Kim Ji Hyun has taught her some very valuable lessons, which I hope heralds a period of dominance for her.

She needs to win at least one All England and the gold at Tokyo 2020 to cement her place as an all time legend. On the way to winning this she convincingly beat the All England champions in the last 4 years - Tai Tzu Ying (2017 and 18), Chen Yufei (2019) and Okuhara (2016).

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