Indian Sports and Entertainment Industry

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 23 Jun 2010 22:41

the point being it is not meaningless for hockey, which anyone vaguely acquainted with the history of hockey should know.

Carl_T · Post by **Carl_T** » 23 Jun 2010 22:52

I was never talking about hockey in the first place....

Demand soccer, hockey,etc to be played barefoot on grass (and change rules for other games too). Otherwise it is not a sport for whole world and don't call it olympic, world cup, whatever, etc. This issue is a very valid issue for a writ in an international Court. Get all the Europeans to play soccer bare feet!! and then let see where they stand!! if anywhere!!

joshvajohn · Post by **joshvajohn** » 24 Jun 2010 00:52

Will India's football team ever qualify for the World Cup? Not judging by the last week
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/monty ... last-week/

India Inc kicks off in style
http://www.business-standard.com/india/ ... le/399186/

Does Football need a Lalit Modi?
http://www.sportskeeda.com/2010/06/10/d ... alit-modi/

Don't underestimate India's passion for football
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll ... columnists

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 24 Jun 2010 19:07

by carl_t

I was never talking about hockey in the first place....

Quote:
Demand soccer, hockey,etc to be played barefoot on grass (and change rules for other games too). Otherwise it is not a sport for whole world and don't call it olympic, world cup, whatever, etc. This issue is a very valid issue for a writ in an international Court. Get all the Europeans to play soccer bare feet!! and then let see where they stand!! if anywhere!!

I am talking about all sports in general.

Carl_T · Post by **Carl_T** » 24 Jun 2010 19:51

joshvajohn wrote:Will India's football team ever qualify for the World Cup? Not judging by the last week
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/monty ... last-week/

India Inc kicks off in style
http://www.business-standard.com/india/ ... le/399186/

Does Football need a Lalit Modi?
http://www.sportskeeda.com/2010/06/10/d ... alit-modi/

Don't underestimate India's passion for football
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll ... columnists

It's probably not a bad idea to do what the US did for this. When the US went 0-3 at the 98 World Cup in France they decided to develop a team themselves and selected the best young high school age players and put them in a residential academy in Bradenton, Florida. There the trainees go to a special school and spend the rest of their time training all day. Another program the US launched was called Generation Adidas, where top young players are identified and are incentivized to go to professional football, with the backup of a full college scholarship in the event that they don't end up making the grade as footballers. Players from these two programs form the core of the US team at the World Cup: Tim Howard, Landon Donovan, Oguchi Onyewu, Damarcus Beasley, Michael Bradley, Carlos Bocanegra, Maurice Edu, Edson Buddle among others.

This has been done in conjunction with steady growth in the domestic MLS league which has provided constant flow and development of talent for the USNT. The key for Indian football has to be in the strength of the I-league.

Asit P · Post by **Asit P** » 24 Jun 2010 20:36

Saina Nehwal breaks into top-3 of world rankings
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Spor ... 086251.cms

Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal on Thursday took a giant stride towards realising her goal of becoming the world number one player as she jumped three places to a career-best third in the latest international rankings.

Saina's rise follows back-to-back title triumphs at the India Open Grand Prix and the Singapore Open Super Series respectively.

A great day for Indian Badminton.

nithish · Post by **nithish** » 25 Jun 2010 21:16

Force India to launch young driver academy

Force India will set up a young driver academy to bring 'an Indian Lewis Hamilton' from karting to Formula One, team owner Vijay Mallya said on Friday.

India has had only two grand prix drivers, Narain Karthikeyan with Jordan in 2005 and Karun Chandhok this season with HRT.

Mallya said the world's second most populous country should be able to produce a world-beater like McLaren's Hamilton, who became the sport's youngest champion at the age of 23 in 2008.

"I have got to start looking for somebody really young," the billionaire told reporters at the European Grand Prix. "Amongst 1.2 billion people, there's got to be a Lewis Hamilton somewhere.

"But it's like trying to pick a needle from a haystack," added Mallya, whose current F1 drivers are Italian Vitantonio Liuzzi and Germany's Adrian Sutil.

"We are now going to launch a nationwide programme in India to identify young talent.

"This is a pretty complex exercise. It involves several karting tracks all over the country, a whole organised method of getting people to enter; a competitive environment and competitive programme."

Mallya said Force India would then aim to take those with exceptional talent to Europe where their education and karting would be paid for.

"(We will) literally mentor them through until they can sit in a Formula One cockpit," he explained. "We are absolutely committed to doing that."

India is scheduled to host a grand prix in 2011 for the first time, with work well under way on a new circuit near New Delhi.

Mallya said he was now completely convinced that the race would happen after speaking to circuit designer Hermann Tilke.

"I bumped into him today when I was coming in to the paddock and he said everything is on track, we've seen pictures and there is some real progress.

"Now I can safely say that I am personally convinced that the track will be built, will be completed and there will be an inaugural grand prix next year."

Asit P · Post by **Asit P** » 25 Jun 2010 21:53

^^^^^^
A very good step.

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 26 Jun 2010 11:45

Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan has done more for Indian hockey in the first 5 months of 2010, than politicians and officials have done in 5 years.

January 28, 2010: Shivraj Chauhan contributed a whopping Rs. 1 crore to the women's hockey team, distributed among 50 women players and officials, with each person getting Rs. 2 lakhs, at a function held at the Sports Authority of India centre in Bhopal.

March 23, 2010: Shivraj Chauhan inaugurated the Obaidullah Khan Gold Cup Hockey Tournament at Aishbagh Stadium, revived after 8 long years by the state Directorate of Sports and Youth Welfare. With a total prize money of Rs. 10.5 lakhs, the Obaidullah Khan Gold Cup became the top prize money hockey tournament of India.

March 29, 2010: Before the final of the Obaidullah Khan Gold Cup, Shivraj Chauhan presented a cheque for Rs. 18 lakhs to the Indian men's World Cup team. In addition, local lads Shivendra Singh (Gwalior) and Sameer Dad (Bhopal) were given Rs. 1 lakh each. The chief minister also announced an upcoming All-India Women's Hockey Tournament at Bhopal.

April 30, 2010: A nine-day All India Women's Hockey Tournament was successfully completed in Bhopal. This was the highest ever prize money awarded for a women's hockey tournament. The winner of the tournament got Rs. 2 lakhs, the runner-up Rs.1 lakh, and the third and fourth place teams got Rs. 75,000 and Rs. 50,000 respectively.

May 30, 2010: Shivraj Chauhan presented Rs. 50,000 to each Indian men's hockey player as well as coach Brasa for emerging joint winners at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. The chief minister said that he was willing to keep blank cheques ready if the Indian team continued to win in the same vein. The Indian team reciprocated by gifting an official jersey of the Indian hockey team, signed by each player, to the chief minister.

Coming soon: hockey cradle -- Tata Steel sets ball rolling for academy debut by year-end
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100626/j ... 612815.jsp

The Indian women's hockey team played a 5-test series with New Zealand from May 15-23, as part of their preparation for the World Cup, Commonwealth and Asian Games later this year. The first two tests were played at Endeavour Trust Twin Turfs in Palmerston North, the third at Kett Capital Hockey Stadium in Napier, and the last two matches at the National Hockey Stadium in Wellington. The final match of the series was televised live on SKY Sport 1 in New Zealand. India won the 5-test series 2-1. In June, Ind women win the 4-match series against canada 2-0, 2 drawn. Now onto the 4-nations in germany. The men will be in germany for a 4-nations followed by an oirope tour in july. Shivendra Singh is out due to injury and Arjun Halappa has been "rested."

Playing for Glory, Playing for Survival - Meet Amit Prabhakar
http://www.bharatiyahockey.org/calendar ... k=Survival

In a family headed by his mother, Kusum, 18-year-old Amit is the eldest of four siblings. When he was two, his father began working at the mess at the Guru Govind Singh Sports College, on the outskirts of Lucknow. Since then, the family has been living in a small hut on the college campus. Amit's first hockey stick was a gift from one of the college coaches. His father dreamt that Amit would play for India, but today he isn't around to celebrate. He died of kidney failure in 2009 because the family couldn't afford a transplant. Kusum is the sole breadwinner, earning Rs. 1,500 a month, doing odd jobs at the hostel mess.

Pakis have a new coach. Dutch. Whats the fondness for the dutch and pakistan, god only will know.

Asit P · Post by **Asit P** » 27 Jun 2010 21:06

Saina does it again. Wins Indonesian open.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/spor ... 097767.cms

Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal continued her rampaging form as she completed a spectacular hat-trick of titles by clinching the Indonesia Open Super Series with a three-game triumph over Japan's Sayaka Sato on Sunday.

Unbeaten for the past three weeks, the top seeded defending champion defeated her unseeded but resolute rival 21-19, 13-21, 21-11 in a rollercoaster encounter that lasted 45 minutes.

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 27 Jun 2010 23:51

http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/report_th ... al_1401907

When Padukone talks of Saina, there is acknowledgement of a particular ability that no words can describe, and which he finds in no other current Indian player. It’s what might be called the recognition of winnability - the ability to nail a match despite all the odds - of fatigue, court conditions, crowd behaviour, pressure, and one’s own expectations.

To go beyond the satisfaction of having won two titles in two weeks, and plead fatigue in a third successive final, is a rare quality that the two share, across many generations. There are of course more summits to conquer - the Asian Games, the World Championships, and the Olympics. Saina is only 20. There is plenty of time yet.

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 28 Jun 2010 05:45

SN may be 20, but like women's tennis the shelf-life of a badminton prima donna is getting to be 25-26 and very rarely above that. Susi Susanti ruled the arena from 91-96 and ceded the throne to Ye Zhaoying, who herself was her poor self by the time 2000 came along. After these two, it has been a ring-a-ring-a-roses in terms of who is the queen, noone has dominated the scene single-handedly. While not to take much away from SN, lets put this achievement in context. For a badminton-starved country such as us, this is sweet nectar, but in terms of absolute terms, SN is far far away from being labeled as the new Susi Susanti. The ddm is not gonna grok it that way, unfortunately. (Especially ToI which has a mutual back-rub with SN, we may see a few ballistic articles planted to raise the profile of SN in the next few days.) She still has a long way to go. She has been losing to players such as Tine Rasmussen and Pi Hongyan, the n-th seeds, far more consistently as much as she has beaten Lu Lan, the Hyderabad world champion. Luckily for SN, the Paris world championship may not be far away and she might just be able to put it past the Wang ****'s of chini-land this time round. Just the fact that the chinis are fearful of SN may bring some kujlee to some jingoes, but as we have seen in the case of another prima donna, too-close-yet-too-far is an idiom that seems to afflict most desi sports-folks barring a select few. Thing does get to people's head unless they choose to ignore the ddm etc.

The case of men's singles is still a work in progress. I had great hopes behind Anup Sridhar and Chetan Anand, but P. Kashyap seems to have come far more than others especially cos of injuries to AS. Think of PK as the Hendrawan of India, too soon to tell, but may not be that bad a comparison. One other thing that is eerie is that Indonesian badminton is hardly there today, Maria Kristin Yulianti seems to have been one-off esp with her injury-prone body. The men's case is even more sucky. Gone are the days of Liem Swie King, Ardy Wiranata and Heryanto Arby. It was surprising to note the coincidences between Indonesian badminton and the Djarum club and the fact that more than a handful of the famous badminton players are Christian. In fact, Rudy Hartono is currently a pastor in the SF/SD area! May be the decline of Indonesian badminton has some strange connections to the GoIndonesia trying to do a South Africa, a la a "post-apartheid" infusion of Muslims, could well be. A sudden strange decline usually has explanations.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 28 Jun 2010 08:42

SN has to work to a plan to keep up fitness, health and mental freshness levels....being in the top3 for a few years of time wont be a easy challenge. not seen her matches recently, but earlier she faced issue of lack of stamina for long matches .

Asit P · Post by **Asit P** » 01 Jul 2010 02:53

Samsung's Asiad boost for Bindra, Vijender

Beijing Olympic Games gold medallist Abhinav Bindra and nine other top Indian medal hopes are part of the Samsung Sports Ratna programme launched to help them in their training and preparations for the upcoming Asian Games in Guangzhou, China.

The other top shooters in the scholarship support programme are Manavjit Singh Sandhu, Gagan Narang and Ranjan Sodhi while boxing hopefuls Vijender Singh, Akhil Kumar, Nano Singh Thakchom and Mayengbam Suranjoy Singh along with grapplers Sushil Kumar and Ramesh Kumar complete the list.

Ameet · Post by **Ameet** » 03 Jul 2010 22:53

Paes-Black beat Dlouhy-Benesova to enter Wimbledon mixed doubles final

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story ... final.html

Ameet · Post by **Ameet** » 05 Jul 2010 08:28

Wimbledon: Leander Paes & Cara Black win mixed doubles
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/8787012.stm

India's Achanta Sharath Kamal wins men's singles title in U.S. Open Table Tennis Championships
http://www.mlive.com/sports/grand-rapid ... mal_w.html

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 05 Jul 2010 14:09

this is what one has to be afraid of - hope saina doesnt go the sania way.

http://goodtimes.ndtv.com/PhotoDetail.a ... pe=PG#talk

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 06 Jul 2010 14:27

If the animal can part-ay, so can madam,

Leander Paes created history on Sunday. He became only the second man to win Wimbledon titles in three different decades and, in the process, also topped the list of Indian Grand Slam winners. Paes had won the mixed doubles title in 1999 with Raymond and in 2003 partnering Martina Navratilova. Rod Laver is the only man to have previously won titles in three different decades.

This statistic is a bit bullshit, for in Malcolm Gladwell's words, if we look at this from a statistics viewpoint, anyone who could have possibly done it would have the last number of the birth year between 8 and 3. For example, RL was born in 1938 and LP in 1973. But nevertheless, for a braveheart such as LP, we can set aside such dictum and let him through

.

For everyone, shani bhagwan comes in some form at some time. For sania, it had duly arrived a couple of years back.

In the WTA list, the dip continues for Sania, who made a first-round exit from Wimbledon. From last week’s 111, Sania has now dropped to the 132nd spot with 497 points to her credit.

Now, we have to see the other madam go through qualifiers, wow, that will be fun, if she ever gets through. For investing on this idiot, please show me the other wall. In contrast to our dork, when will this female ever ever throw her racket? In her next birth?!

Ladies’ Invitational Doubles Winners: Martina Navratilova/Jana Novotna (US/Cze)

Hickey: One step forward, three steps back. I have no words to describe the Hamburg masters performance. It is not even heart-breaking, my heart is already broken with the insane wc. Ok an offer to the readers: Can someone send the buffoons (ALL of them) who occupy the Hickey India chair to the Abujmadh forests, please, please, please. I will deposit ALL my savings in your bank balance. Plus, I promise all of my paycheck for the next ten years in your bank balance too. Please, please, please.

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 06 Jul 2010 20:14

In a bid to honour the achievement of India’s first individual Olympic medallist, Sports Minister M. S. Gill on Tuesday re-christened the newly-built wrestling venue in the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex here as K. D. Jadhav Stadium.
...
“Everyone is aware about Mr. Jadhav’s achievement. Everyone knows that real India’s first individual medal at the Olympics was Mr. Jadhav’s. So, it was always in my mind to honour him,” the Sports Minister said in his address. “I am really happy to rechristen the stadium in the name of K. D. Jadhav. He didn’t have any help, he didn’t have any support but he had the determination. He worked very hard and managed on his own and gave India its first individual Olympic medal,” he said.
...
Even though Mr. Jadhav, widely known as ‘Pocket Dynamo’, is regarded as independent India’s first individual Olympic medallist for his bronze medal at the 1952 Helsinki Games, his achievement went unnoticed till he was alive. But Mr. Jadhav’s son Ranjit said the honour which was bestowed on his father today, has made up for the negligence. “I will remember this day whole my life. It is unfortunate that when he was alive he didn’t get any honour but I feel sitting in the heaven he will be very happy today,” said an emotional Ranjit, who was honoured by Gill.

http://thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/article502856.ece

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 06 Jul 2010 20:47

does anyone know if there is a national badminton champ lady 26 yr old, of indo-chinese parentage? I will reveal the reason for my query if anyone provides the above info.

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 06 Jul 2010 20:50

Singha wrote:does anyone know if there is a national badminton champ lady 26 yr old, of indo-chinese parentage? I will reveal the reason for my query if anyone provides the above info.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jwala_Gutta

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 06 Jul 2010 23:19

Jwala Gutta is very good looking, as is Saina Nehwal. Way better than Sania Mirza, the overweight iPod slacker, as Singha would say

Carl_T · Post by **Carl_T** » 06 Jul 2010 23:21

Dipika Pallikal is better IMHO.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 06 Jul 2010 23:27

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life ... 119295.cms

pgbhat · Post by **pgbhat** » 06 Jul 2010 23:32

So Azhar wants to do what with BAI? Is he in running for some position in the organisation??

shravan · Post by **shravan** » 11 Jul 2010 21:09

Narendra Modi extends a helping hand to sportspersons in Gujarat

According to GSTTA officials, Modi's interest in table tennis will benefit players in the future. "These are encouraging signs. If he shows interest, corporate houses will also support us, and solve our sponsorship issue," Sangtani said.

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 11 Jul 2010 22:27

pgbhat wrote:So Azhar wants to do what with BAI? Is he in running for some position in the organisation??

Azhar is now a politician, MP from moradabad iirc. Most politicians want to be member of exclusive sports gymkhanas or head at least one of the national ones. That same illness plagues babus, judges, what RM would call as nbjprie. Take a deep breath and check out the secretaries and presidents of national associations across a wide spectrum, field sports, indoor, outdoor, etc. The case of azhar is that he is still banned by bcci, he cant do anything crikkit-related for a long time iirc. Love for some other game could be a genuine venting out or could be to act as a grand savior for that game. I dont have issues with nbjprie heading associations, some of the good ones indeed are from this class, Karni Singh and his passion comes to the fore. Shivraj Singh Chauhan would be a good candidate to head Hickey India. But our fate is that we end up with oiseaules such as Vidya Stokes, Sharad Pawar, IWF oiseaules etc.

Meanwhile, sharat kamal wins second TT championship in a row. Now in egypt. But he wont get as much attention as the prima donnas cos he would nt whine and make a fuss. Go ddm, go.

negi · Post by **negi** » 13 Jul 2010 00:09

Yuki needs to be brave: Nick Bollettieri

Yuki is making a transition from junior to senior level and won five ITF Futures tournament last year in the process.

"The turning point (in Yuki's career) would be when he would believe that he can do it and take on big boys," Bollettieri, who has trained legendary players like Andre Agassi, said.

Bollettieri was here to assess Indians kids, who will get an opportunity to train at IMG academies and also at his own world famous academy in Florida, USA.

The scholarship programme is being funded by IMG and Reliance.

The coach also said that India can produce more players like Leander Paes.

"Yes, India can have more Leander Paes. But for that a system has to be developed and supported financially. Leander was no giant but he did it and more players can do it," he said.

AITA Secretary General Anil Khanna and IMG Vice President (South Asia) Ravi Krishnan were also at the press conference to announce the scholarship programme.

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 13 Jul 2010 13:48

Anand and Darpan – two champions meet

09.07.2010 – Both became national champions at the age of 16 – Vishy Anand in 1986, the youngest Indian player to win the title, and 2010 Darpan Inani, the youngest Indian to win the National Blind Chess Championship. A meeting between the two was arranged, and to Darpan's delight the World Champion spent some quality time with him. A touching Midday story.

http://chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=6491

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 13 Jul 2010 20:06

Former India captain Dilip Tirkey was named one of the selectors in the four-member national selection committee by the rejuvenated Indian Hockey Federation. Apart from Tirkey, the other members of the selection committee includes former India international Abdul Gaffoor Khan, Olympians Baljeet Singh Dhillion, Anil Aldrin and Sayyed Ali, an official release said.

India's challenge in the World Championship in Paris in August will be handled by the nine-member squad that includes Saina Nehwal, Aditi Mutatkar, Jwala Gutta, Ashwini Ponnappa, Chetan Anand, Parupalli Kashyap, Sanave Thomas, V Diju and Rupesh Kumar. Pullela Gopichand will be the chief coach.

Where is Anup Sridhar these days?!
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Spor ... 163240.cms

The Sports Ministry has given the Indian Olympic Association time till Thursday to submit a comprehensive document with all the financial details if it wants to get the government's permission to bid for the 2019 Asian Games. The Ministry said the National Olympic body made a significant delay in informing the government of its decision to bid for the 2019 Asian Games, giving it very little time to consult with various parties concerned.

Two journalistic mistakes: i) it is the 2018 Asian Games. But the journalist quotes the Sports ministry letter and the sports ministry quotes the IOA letter. If the IOA cant get the date right for the Games, why should they even bid for it?! Neither the IOA, the sports ministry nor the journalist have caught on to this fundamental error. 2) The deadline for the bid was June 30, 2010 and IOA missed it. So the sports ministry's justification to the hatch-job that an unnamed "IOA official" did under the PTI charade hosted on ToI on June 29, 2010 (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Spor ... 106579.cms) is being reported back in ToI 14 days later. Makes good sense for the journalist's CV, he/she now has two reports to file under his/her name. But to assume that every reader will just read the hatch-job and not think about it is a fundamental mistake number 2. There are people who actually pull up bid documents. And there are people who do that without any cash compensation for such a mundane job. So the journalist and his/her credentials should be told to just stuff it.

Tanaji · Post by **Tanaji** » 13 Jul 2010 22:15

But our fate is that we end up with oiseaules such as Vidya Stokes, Sharad Pawar, IWF oiseaules etc.

Stanji, it is a criminal mistake not to include the oiseaule-in-chief Suresh Kalmadi in this list.

Ameet · Post by **Ameet** » 15 Jul 2010 23:16

Saina Nehwal climbs one spot to become World No.2

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_sa ... -2_1410127

pgbhat · Post by **pgbhat** » 18 Jul 2010 02:41

Indians win series with 6-0 victory

New Delhi: India scored four second-half goals as they routed hosts Belgium 6-0 in the third and final hockey Test to clinch the series 2-0 at Wellington, Brussels. India had won the second match 3-2 after a 3-3 draw in the opening game. On Friday, India scored through Sandeep Singh (18’, 70’), Danish Mujtaba (29’), Dhananjay Mahadik (44’), Tushar Khandker (45’) and Sarvanjit Singh (63’). India now travel to Paris where they play three Tests against France.

AoA!!

Tanaji · Post by **Tanaji** » 21 Jul 2010 15:24

http://sports.rediff.com/report/2010/ju ... racket.htm

Indian Hockey in yet another crisis. No idea if Kaushik is involved or not, but regardless his career will be over. If he is innocent and its a conspiracy, its shameful. Such charges are with you forever even if you are proved innocent.

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 21 Jul 2010 16:33

MK Kaushik is as close to agmark gold in personality. I dont know him personally, but I have read enough about him. I would be very very surprised if he has actually committed any crime. But in India, any man accused of being guilty is actually guilty. Even if the accusation is from a proven bigot. In any case, it is not even clear if MK Kaushik has been charged, seems like the videographer was caught with a prostitute.

On the one hand, Vidya Stokes, the 83 yr old oiseaule, wants to be the president of HI. On the other, the Narinder Batra and SK Mandiretta led HI claims that they dont need the support of MSYA and they show their backsides to MSYA. Pargat Singh, who is no more a kid and a man on the block himself, with having been married to a politician, having helped a relative get elected in elections etc., wants to wrest power. So it is a battle between the old school administrators who want their fiefdom still there and a relatively youngistan brigade under Pargat Singh trying to take over. MS Gill is caught like a joker in the midst. The callousness with which Narinder Batra said he did nt need GoI support got my goats. Yes sir, you would nt need the GoI's support cos some jokers will anyway come to support the national game with some fanciful ideas of how our national prestige at stake. My Dantewada-paycheck offer is still on the table, please someone indulge.

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 21 Jul 2010 23:58

One good thing that could be possible out of this MK Kaushik affair is if he turns up to coach the jr mens team, which is what he had been wanting to do for long before Harendra Singh was tipped over by Jose Brasa. But then MKK could be weary of hockey at large too. Time will tell. The womens side needs a different coach, it is untenable for MKK to stay back amidst all this hulla-gulla provided he is exonerated, which looks closer to reality than he being held guilty. MKK has been with the womens side for too long too. If folks recall, it was Vidya Stokes who forced MKK to stick back with the womens team when he openly voiced his interest for the mens hockey coach. IN fact, there was a big drama for the coach position before the then IHF converged on Brasa. Harendra Singh also got snubbed in the process. All in the shame that is Indian hickey.

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 22 Jul 2010 11:17

Hope polls reveal a clear picture
http://telegraphindia.com/1100722/jsp/s ... 710221.jsp

Kaushik, however, said he would never return to take up the coaching job in women’s hockey even if he was absolved of the charges. “I would not like to resume this assignment again,” he said.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 22 Jul 2010 12:05

I am a bit confused. can someone clarify?
[a] what are those photos of? bideshi call girls + kaushik ? who took the photos?
he is alleged to have had a relationship with the manager? who is this person? male or female?

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 22 Jul 2010 12:36

Singha wrote:I am a bit confused. can someone clarify?
[a] what are those photos of? bideshi call girls + kaushik ? who took the photos?
he is alleged to have had a relationship with the manager? who is this person? male or female?

Details are murky, but let me post what I can collate.

Seems like the videographer Basavraj has been caught with a chinese call girl when the womens team went on an prep tour for CWG. It is claimed that even during the canadian trip, he would be floating around with call girls. There were a couple of pics of Basavraj in ToI, dont know if it is photoshopped. I am not al-photoshoppi. In any case, Basavraj is claimed to have no videography talent and just warming the official bench on furrin tours. It is claimed that MKK took him as Basavraj bribed MKK with booze and cash so that he could be taken around. The sticky part is the timing. China visit happened 3-4 months back, canada visit even earlier iirc. Why are the skeletons tumbling NOW, beats me. Why did nt folks complain ages back if things were so bad as they make it out, beats me.

Helen Mary, one of the former star players, has come to the defence of Manipuri lass, Ranjitha Devi (the main accuser) and said that MKK would misbehave with women in camps. It is claimed that MKK would be hobnobbing with a women manager when a women manager was in the official list (long past now). Noone has proof, it is all based on my word vs. your word. What is bizarre is that 30 of the women hockey players have signed some letter accusing MKK of being complicit in some abuse. Dont know the details/contents of the letter. It is claimed that this blackfacing has been orchestrated with special regard to HI elections that are bound to happen soon. If this accusation has any backup, it is the Pargat Singh camp vs. Vidya Stokes camp playing games. Vidya Stokes was responsible for MKK sticking around in the womens side and not going to the mens side as he had requested 4 years back. Pargat Singh camp represents the youngistan brigade that smells blood. Would it stoop so low to accuse MKK of being what is claimed and hence by implication cause unforeseen damage to Vidya Stokes is beyond Bollywood dramabaazi.

What is clear is that womens hockey has three or four centers -- Manipur being the most prominent in the NE. With a bad PR such as this incident, hardly any parent is going to send their kid to play hockey. Is this a chinese maneuver to catch Indian womens hockey in a sting and hence bring its downfall -- could be, I would nt place it beyond the chini shenanigans. Is MKK guilty? At the very least, he can be accused of running an authoritative camp with no clarity on what the players were expected of and what their best recourse to get back into the team on being thrown out. On the other hand, it is not necessary that MKK must have abused any women player. He might have just used a call girl on an official visit. That is a crime too -- esp when the MSYA is funding the trip. From a personality viewpoint, Zafar Iqbal, Mir Ranjan negi (of chak de India fame), Joaquim Carvalho, etc. have sided with MKK. From all that I have read, this is just beyond him. But we are talking of men here. Like chak de India showed, the women are nt all saintly either. There is always a tension between the men/officials and women in a women's team. The women just now united over the pay issue and took on Vidya Stokes on how they suffered. In fact, there is a considerable ember on what they see as Vidya Stokes' nonsense on pay matters. May be the folks are sensing blood too and want VS thrown out.

In fact, Vidya Stokes cited the Society Act for why the GoI and MSYA, in particular, have no control over who can get elected. She is 83. MSYA cites a no-objection certificate they gave in pre-WC time which stipulated 70 as the upper limit. There is a power game between the Punjab camp with KPS Gill and Pargat Singh on one side and other federations. Punjab had always considered itself first among equals on hockey matters. Obviously KPS Gill of IHF has sided with the anti-MKK gang and wants a CBI investigation. The HI body for its part has cited Supreme Court guidelines and appointed a further body (with >= women representatives) to hear the mess. Again, it is my word vs. your word with no proof (not yet heard about as yet) of MKK's guilt. Basavraj's picture with a callgirl even if photoshopped has meant he is out of the team. He is employed by SAI, so HI has no authority on him anymore other than ask SAI to send someone else for videography. SAI is funded by MSYA, but HI does nt want MSYA to run riot in its fiefdom. All this points to a complicated checkerboard of power games going on in the background with us neanderthals being the last to hear about what is going on. Whatever be the outcome, womens hockey has hit a further nadir while the mens team is floating around on an Oirope tour not knowing who/what/how will anyone head the very body that is expected to further the game in the country.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 22 Jul 2010 13:26

thanks for the explanations. if only our desi media used their heads to explain 10% of such details...all I see in TV as MKK photos, some call girl photos and endless shouting of "hockey sex scandal" "is he guilty?" with no background explanations.