Footer: http://www.hindu.com/2009/06/15/stories ... 481500.htm
Goa regains Santosh Trophy ---- Felix D’Souza’s heroics in the tie-breaker dash Bengal’s hopes
CHENNAI: Goalkeeper Felix D’Souza was the hero as Goa registered a 4-2 win over Bengal via tie- break in the final and lifted the Santosh Trophy in the 63rd edition of the National football championship at the floodlit Nehru stadium here on Sunday. This is the fifth time the trophy is going to Goa. Not having conceded any goal throughout the championship, skipper Felix effected two vital saves in the tie-break to shatter the hopes of Bengal, which will have to wait for another year to see if it can add to the 29th title triumph achieved exactly a decade ago at this same venue.
After 120 minutes of energy-sapping match, including the 30 minutes of extra time, the deadlock could not be broken. Then the issue moved into the tie-break phase. Climax Lawrence converted the first kick, but Snehasish Chakraborthy restored parity for Bengal. Then Beevan D’Mello put Goa up 2-1, but Safar Sardar failed for Bengal. Nicholas Rodrigues, who had such a good match, too failed for Goa. Lalkamal Bhowmick was the next to fail for Bengal and John Dias shot into the roof to make it Goa 3-1.
Decisive moment
Puia made it 2-3 for Bengal and then came the decisive moment when Fulgancio Rodrigues came on and slotted it in perfectly, once again Subashis Choudhary going the wrong way. The victor and the vanquished had been identified and the cheers from the appreciative crowd {all that violence after the semifinals against the same Goans was a bit of too much emotions the Tams often bring to any issue, Bengalis and fish, Tams and emotion, ah well politically incorrect onlee....} rose for the new champion. By any yardstick this was a poor final. Caution was understandable to start with but bereft of any strategy and hardly any show of ingenuity from either side, the standards dipped steeply.
Mispasses and poor coordination tarnished the competition. Of the two teams, Goa still looked closer to making the mark during the regulation time, particularly in the first phase of the match. Abranches twice made close visits before Surojit Bose returned the compliments with a snap try at the Goa end. From then on action kept switching ends. A steadier Puia was the need for Bengal and a sharper Marcus for Goa. Both failed even as the midfielders and defenders hogged the limelight.
Subha Kumar was a trier as was Denson but Gauranga Biswas, the semifinal hero hardly got things right for Bengal. Only in the extra time with Kartick Kisku’s induction expectations rose for Bengal only because of the latter’s amazing runs and ability to sneak into the rival goal area. But he lacked support even from Puia who normally pounces on half-chances. For Goa, the work of the defenders Cowan Lawrence and Mahesh Gawli stood out. With cohesion snapping and ingenuity missing, the contest meandered into the tie-breaker.
Good work by Referee
A highlight of the final was that it was clean football effectively handled by Referee Pradeep of Tamil Nadu. Not once did he bring out the card. For Goa the seventh meeting with Bengal proved a landmark. Five times it had failed and once had been joint winner.
The teams: Bengal: Subhashis Roy Choudhury; Biswajit Saha (Anupam Sarkar), Rajib Ghosh, Safar Sardar, S.K. Azim; Denson Devadas, Subha Kumar, Gouranga Biswas (Kartick Kisku); Surajit Bose (Lalkamal Bhowmick), Snehashish Chakraborty, Lalam Puia.
Goa: Felix D’Souza; Rowilson Rodrigues, Covan Lawrence (John Dias), Mahesh Gawli, Fulgancio Cardozo; Wilton Gomes, Climax Lawrence, Nicholas Rodrigues, Beevan D’Mello; Marcus Mascarenhas (Branco Cardozo), Joaquim abranches (Francis Fernandes).
Referee: Pradeep Kumar (TN); Assistant Referees: Gokulananda Sharma (Mani) and Vishnu Chauhan (Guj).
http://www.hindu.com/2009/06/15/stories ... 511500.htmBengal had to blame themselves for the defeat after missing scoring chances galore while Goa, playing their eighth match in three weeks, looked more likely to score though they too fumbled at the finish. Tamil Nadu striker Muthu was adjudged Player of the tournament while Goa received the Fair Play trophy. {surely after putting up with the irate TN fans, was that a suspense?!}
Bengal showed a lot of urgency at the start and had the Goans under pressure with a series of raids as they intelligently moved the ball around from flank to flank to keep the defenders guessing. However, despite the early dominance, Bengal drew blank at the finish where their forwards were found wanting in positioning and also anticipating the stream of crosses that rained in from the wings.
Hockey mens: While the men are out of the field from the jr wc, and the seniors (as expected) sitting at home and practicing amongst themselves, mucho politics on the political front. As expected, KPS Gill is marching forward to do an encore that even the venerable Jaggu-bhai Dalmiya could nt script. Alas, with far fewer power centers and a lot less money (both as a consequence and as a reason for having fewer power centers) than in crikkit, this was to be expected. But then everyone assumed, hoped and prayed, it will not be one step forward and 1 1/2 back in the apparatus that determines the musical chair that is Indian hockey. Whats rank bad is Jothikumaran coming back.... Where is the 7 1/2 year shani-dosha on Jothik, when will it come, I wonder!‘It was an open match’
Chennai: Having lost five times in five previous finals to Bengal, it took the Russian roulette of a penalty shootout for Goa to lay the jinx to rest and clinch its fifth Santosh Trophy. After an exultant dash onto the pitch following left back Fulgancio Cardozo’s title-winning penalty, and in between acknowledging congratulations from mobile phones thrust at his ears from all sides, Goa coach Mariano Dias said that his players had deserved the win for the openings they created during the game.
“It was an open match and both sides played good football. But I think we created more chances than Bengal,” he said. “When it went into penalties, I knew my keeper (captain Felix D’Souza) would do well.” Early in the match, Bengal winger Snehasish Chakraborthy had sparkled down the left touchline and Dias said his side dealt adequately with his threat in the second half. “It was one of the things we discussed at half time, and we managed to contain him in the second half.”
Nandy disappointed
Pacing up and down the running track on the perimeter of the pitch, Bengal coach Raghu Nandy wore a subdued look. “We played well, but our strikers didn’t convert their chances. I expected a lot more from Lalam Puia today,” he said. About halfway into extra time, Nandy had introduced the speedy Kartik Kisku on the right wing, and the winger immediately made an impact, getting past the Goa left back twice. “I think I brought him on at the right time,” he said. “I thought his pace would unsettle the tiring Goa players, and it worked, except that Puia and Lalkamal Bhowmick missed their chances.”
At the post-match ceremony, Tamil Nadu’s P. Muthu was adjudged Player of the Tournament while his striker partner P.C. Riju walked away with the WinWind Golden Foot award for his 12 goals in the tournament. Goa won the Fair Play award. Moideen Khan, State Minister for Youth Affairs, gave away the trophies.
Felicitated
During the half-time break, the Tamil Nadu Football Association felicitated 16 former and current players who have represented India. The players felicitated were Simon Sundarraj, Thanapathi, I. Arumainayagam, Celstin, K.S. Raju, Orlando Rayan, Koshy, D. Sekar, Elumalai, Mohammed Amjad, Sabir Pasha, Raman Vijayan, Felix, Sathish, Ravanan, and S. Vasanthi, who played for India in the 2008 Women’s Asian Games in Tehran.
Jose Brasa is not gonna be shown the door despite the change in fortunes in the admin side. In fact, Aslam Sher Khan was seen trying to make peace with KPSG, wow that means a lot. Means that the ad-hoc body headed by Ajitpal Singh has seen the direction wind flows. Even Suresh Kalmadi was seen making peace with KPSG. The only doofus left now is sports mantri MSG.... But will two gills result in the fish flying or the fish frying, time will tell.... In any case, that sorry hockey fan somewhere out there wondering and yondering, welcome to Yindia, you have no other country to cheer for, thats the kismet connection....
Ok, elsewhere, Hockey womens: http://www.hindu.com/2009/06/15/stories ... 441600.htm
If folks have noticed, lotsa women-folk from Manipur and Orissa (Pamposh to be specific) have been climbing the ladder steadily. Onwards....
Disastrous June continues, waiting for change of signs in July.....Surinder Kaur at the helm
BANGALORE: Surinder Kaur will lead the Indian women’s hockey team in the Champion Challenge tournament to be held in Kaz, Russia from June 21. While goalkeeper Marita Tirkey, who is undergoing a treatment for an injury, will miss the tournament, veteran Mamta Kharab makes a return. Besides India, the other nations in the fray are Russia, Ukraine, Ireland, Malaysia, Belgium, Canada and Belarus.
The team: Goalkeepers: Savita, Jasdeep Kaur. Defenders: Binita Toppo, Joydeep Kaur, Preeti Kiru. Midfielders: Th. Ranjeeta, Kirandeep Kaur, Mukta Baria, Deepika Thakur, Vartika Singh. Forwards: Surinder Kaur (captain), Mamata Kharab, Saba Anjum, Chanchan Devi, Ritu Rani, Rani Devi, Rosalyn Dung Dung, Vandana Kataria.
Officials: M.K. Kaushik (chief coach), Vasu Thapiyal (coach), Vikas Dhawan (physio) and Nalini (video-analyst).
Motor racing: http://www.hindu.com/2009/06/15/stories ... 301500.htm
Weightlifting: http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.c ... 655294.cmsInjury forces Narain out of Le Mans
Coimbatore: Disaster struck India’s Narain Karthikeyan when he injured his left shoulder prior to the start of the all important Le Mans 24-hour race at the Circuit de la Sarthe in France on Sunday. Narain, who had come up with strong performances in the practice and the qualifying, was scheduled to do the opening double stint. But 10 minutes before the start of the formation lap, after the warm up and sighting laps were done, disaster struck the Indian driver.
He climbed over the pit-wall to visit the rest-room, a task undertaken by all drivers before the start of every race, when he slipped and fell dislocating his left shoulder. “The pit-wall was quite high due to safety reasons, and what can I say, I must be the unluckiest driver in the history of Le Mans,” said Narain. Narain was quickly attended by the Audi doctor, who re-located the shoulder joint and put his arm in a sling. He was advised rest for a minimum period of 10 days.
With the pain fast subsiding, Narain was hell bent on racing but failed to get the medical clearance from the doctors. “I have been training so hard, and I was pumped up to do this race. To get injured minutes before the race is the most frustrating experience,” he added.
Too little, too late... Ban the whole team, send off all the effing coaches and start afresh... Nothing else will change the system.
IWF bans lifting coach GP Sharma for one year
NEW DELHI: Cracking the whip on dope offenders {my ass}, the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) has banned Lucknow SAI Centre weightlifting coach GP Sharma for one year for allegedly helping his wards take performance-enhancing drugs. The decision was taken by the IWF on a recommendation by the Uttar Pradesh Weightlifting Federation (UPWF) which had wanted a life-ban on Sharma, also an international referee, for his alleged role in dope cases of his wards.
"(GP) Sharma shall be kept out of any coaching camp or any duties as technical official for one year," a letter from IWF General Secretary BR Gulati to UPWF said. {When the state federation asks for a life ban, why is the national fed going for a one year ban?! That shows the mess thats Indian weightlifting, the system is effed from the top-down.}
On complaints from many quarters, officials, current and former lifters, the UPWF had constituted a three-man inquiry committee to look into charges that Sharma was actually involved in his wards taking to drug. Gulati, in the letter written on June 4, said that Sharma's ban from any assignments could be extended after a review by the IWF of the (UPWF's) inquiry committee report. "... it (the ban) is subject to a further extension after a review of the inquiry by the state association," the letter said.
Gulati confirmed the development but said it was not a ban but only a decision not to use the services of the coach. {Even more effed up, where was all this political correctness when the whole team got caught before the Asian Games and the Olympic Games, and will be caught, at home during the CWG. Would that be a shame for these oiseaules?! Does nt sound like so...} "We have not banned him but have decided not to use his (GP Sharma's) services in coaching camps and as official for one year," he said. UPWF General Secretary Sahdev Yadav said the matter will be discussed in the Executive Committee meeting of the IWF which will be held on June 18 in Pune.
"The inquiry report (by UPWF) was submitted on May 20 and it had recommended a life ban on Sharma but the IWF had reduced it to only one year. A decision whether to extend it will be taken on June 18 at the IWF Executive Committee meeting in Pune," Yadav said. Over the past few years, Sports Authority of India's Centre of Excellence for Weightlifting in Lucknow seems to have has become the hub of doping in the country. {This is ToI's toilet job, blaming it all on SAI is a convenient scapegoat when every weightlifter worth his name and not worth his name was seen doping around, the last time someone did an investigation.}
Kavita Devi, who flunked an out-of-competition dope test conducted by WADA just before the Asian Championships in Japan last year, was a trainee of the Centre, as also Inu Rani who returned positive last year. {But what about K Malleswari, Kunjarani Devi, and other stalwarts? A big yawwwwwwwwwwwwwwn.... Anywhere else in the world, the IWF folks would be made to stand before a oprah look-alike and made to cry like babies for their omissions and commissions and beg for pardon. Thats what happened to Marion Jones.}
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