Bharat Rakshak

The Indian, ranked 10th in the world, will be competing in the Malaysia and Korea Super Series in January and a quarterfinal appearance in both events should be enough for Saina to make the grade.

Rahul M wrote:somdev wins ! through to semis.

Ameet wrote:

Rahul M wrote:somdev wins ! through to semis.

There is a Rajeev Ram in the doubles semis as well. Though he represents the US.

Gurbux Singh: The decline of hockey in the country, for me, began in 1976 because that was the year astroturf was introduced. India, champions by far in field hockey, found it difficult to adjust to the new turf. We could no longer compete with the teams from the west who had the infrastructure and money to ensure they stayed at the cutting edge of hockey.
s2h Comment: If he really believes so, India should give up hockey, not to waste public money any longer. For heaven's sake don't call astroturf unless that brand is being discussed. Why can't you say synthetic turf, which is correct. Kindly bear in mind India was never Champions after 1964. For the 1976 Olympics, Germany was the defending champions which perhaps proves we were not champions prior to 76 also. {I assume Gurbux Singh means the WC win in 1975. We did nt win an OG till 1980, but heh we were in the medal tally even through 72 Munich.}

Gurbux Singh: The government has failed to provide infrastructure and training facilities. We need close to 40 astroturf surfaces so that the game can be developed at the grassroots level.
s2h Comment: Please get the facts correct first. There are 47 turfs available in India. They are grossly under-utilized. Hockey is dying because the State associations have become moribund, exceptions to this are few and far between. Even in Bengal there is no hockey except two to three localities. Why can't you say IHF failed to provide infrastructure, is it because you are always part of IHF? {Thats a hitting comment}

Gurbux Singh: It’s true hockey can’t compete with cricket but the game generates substantial interest in the region. This is because I’ve seen a crowd of 40000-50000 attending hockey tournaments in India whereas in Europe a turnout of 10,000 is considered huge.
s2h Comment: Entry is free in India, it is ticketed in Europe. Then if you compare the population of each European country and where this gentleman found 40-50000 crowd, then what we have is pittance. {True, 40k in a metro Indian city with a population of ~50 lakhs, average Indian city of size 10 lakhs. The capacity of most stadia is more than 40k. In any case, 40k is an optimistic number seen for perhaps some of the biggest and well-advertized events. If there are >1000 folks in a say Beighton cup game or an Aga Khan cup game these days, it must be remarkable.}

Gurbux Singh: A few days back the Bengal Hockey Association (BHA) was informed by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) that the National Championship would be played from December 20 to January 4. The Beighton Cup was forced to be postponed. BHA agreed and shifted the Beighton Cup to a December 30-January 14/15 slot.
s2h Comment: Yes, correct. The Ad-hoc Committee needed to have organized the National, which is wrong. Now the question to the player-turned columnist. You have been part of every IHF that has come in the past 30 years. Why can’t you reason with them to have Nationals in the past also?

Gurbux Singh: This (going away of Els van Breda Vriesman) should be good news for us as the outgoing president had caused much damage by meddling in our affairs.
s2h Comment: If some body wants to reason, and help you improve your game, is it called ‘Meddling’? {I can see the truth in both statements, the first one is a whine about organizational meddling that Brinda propagated, the second is a whine for the decline of the game that he loves so much. For once, both perspectives are true. I will stick to what Gurbux says this time round. Brinda was a paindabutt.}

Note: TNHA has been dissolved and the Tamil Nadu Olympic Committee has formed an Ad-hoc Committee to run the State’s hockey affairs. Yet, this gentleman accepts a team from the Jothikumaran faction, proving the fact most of the former players support KPS Gill and Jothi regime.

Note2: A television channel (NDTV) ran a 10-minute program on how the Punjab Police team had to stay in an unclean accommodation and the team’s protests that made the Beighton Cup in the media for all the wrong reasons. We were told that Bengal Hockey Association has been receiving generous grants from its president JB Roy, who had pitched in to become President of the IHF. Why does then such a thing happen? This former player, who is also organizing secretary of the tournament, it seems, cares more for Gills and Jothis rather than his own ilk players!

Celebrated coach, Markus Weiss, who was awarded the coach of the year prize this year, has picked up a strong, youthful German team for the twin-four nation hockey tournament to be held in Chandigarh from January 31 to February 9. The team includes four stars, Max Weinhold, Moritz Fuerste, Maxmillan Mueller and Tobias Hawke, who were part of the gold medal winning team at Beijing. The event features four teams, India, Germany, the Netherlands and New Zealand.

Newly appointed men's hockey team captain, Sandeep Singh on Sunday said India will look to win the test series against Argentina to get into the winning momentum for four-nation Punjab Gold Cup.India plays a four match test series against Argentina to be played at Mar Del Plata on January 18, 19, 21 and 22, while the Punjab Gold Cup starts here from January 31.

"Getting into winning groove is important and we will like to start this from the Argentina series and follow it up with the four-nation tournament. This will help us in future as our focus will be to win the major tournaments ahead that includes next year's World Cup and the Commonwealth Games," Sandeep said. The drag-flicker was on Friday named captain of the 22-member squad that will play against Argentina and the Punjab Gold Cup, featuring Germany, New Zealand and Netherlands besides India.

The mentally-tough Sandeep has come a long way in his career after receiving a severe jolt in August 2006 when he received a bullet injury in his back in an accidental fire while travelling in a train. The incident eventually kept him out of action for sometime. "When I was in the hospital, the doctor told me that I would not be able to play hockey again. These words left me shattered for a moment, but my family, friends, my coaches and physio gave me strength and perhaps being mentally tough also helped me to overcome the traumatic period," he said.

Asked if he had prior knowledge that he would be named captain, Sandeep said, "No, it came as a surprise though a friend had informed me that some news regarding this (he being named captain) had appeared in a newspaper a week back." {This is the state of Indian hockey, that newspaper was S2h actually. S2h knows it before Sandeep knows it!}

Sandeep said stepping into the new role of a skipper won't be difficult as his goal was always to win matches. "The mindset will not change. As a drag flicker, I have always strived that my team wins and comes on top. Now also, when I am captain I will be aiming for the same thing. I am lucky to have senior players like Dilip Tirkey, Deepak Thakur, Prabhjot and others in the team and hopefully we should do well," said Sandeep, who hails from Shahbad town in Kurukshetra. Sandeep said there is no rift in the team and everybody was very happy with the decision.

"Everyone is happy. There is no junior-senior thing in our team. We play like a family, as a unit and the aim is to make India win," he said. "In future also, we will work like a unit and produce results," he added. Asked if the Indian team that failed to qualify for the Beijing Olympics first time in eight decades lacked skill, Sandeep, who replaces Prabodh Tirkey, said, "yes, nobody expected it to be like that. But I think that is history now and we should look ahead."

Meanwhile, former skipper Pargat Singh said he was surprised at the decision as he felt Sandeep should have been groomed for some more time. "I cannot say what has prompted them to name Sandeep as captain. Personally, I feel he should have been groomed for some more time. "But may be it is the eye on future or may be some of our players are not fit enough at this stage which has prompted selectors to take this step. But whatever it is, I think the selectors should ensure that they have a bench strength of fit and performing players ready when major tournaments come up ahead," Pargat said.

On the eve of Under-21 team's departure to Australia to take part in the Australian Youth Olympics, coach AK Bansal gives importance to the competitive atmosphere expected Sydney rather than mere participation. "Indian Juniors had played Argentina in the recent past, and in the beginning of the year against British and Australian teams in Kuala Lumpur. Therefore, I feel more than the competition, the atmosphere is very important in the sense that there will be many more people watching the matches in Sydney as this is a multi-sport event, and a good crowd is expected", he said a day before the team is scheduled to leave for Australia. The team left India today (Friday) morning. Great Britain, Australia and Malaysia are in the fray, besides India.

Recently, the Indian women team has also agreed to take part in the event, and will be flying in two days time.

The ad-hoc committee has nearly retained the same squad that visited Argentina early last month, and the present visit is yet another effort to give the boys maximum exposure before the target tournament -- Junior World Cup in June this year. "Playing against empty stands is one thing, and performing against full stands is another", Bansal elaborated. "My boys have to be tough and should not be over-awed by the occasion. Sydney presents them an ideal opportunity to play under heavy pressure and British and Australian teams will have the backing of the local support".

Indian juniors last played Australia in the early 2008 in the KL Invitation tournaments. India defeated Australia in the league, before losing the final by the thinnest of margins. According to Bansal, Australia will be eyeing the Gold, and British will give both India and Australia a tough time. The tournament will take place between Jan 14 and 18.

Women's hockey in India is never short on controversies. The latest to rack the game is the irregular flow of graded payments to the national pool of players and coaches that began with the entry of a sponsor three years ago. It's been nearly a year since the players and coaches received their cheques from City Limouzines, the sponsor roped in by the Indian Women's Hockey Federation (IWHF) in 2006, sources told TOI. Payments were regular in the first few months but shrunk to a trickle by mid-2007 before the last of the cheques were handed over in February 2008, the sources said.

According to the IWHF grid laid out in 2006, players were bracketed in the Rs 10,000, Rs 8,000, Rs 3,000 and Rs 2,000 categories while the coaches were given Rs 15,000 (national coach), Rs 12,000 (chief coach, juniors) and Rs 5,000. {Anyone whining about BCCI, please take note. This is what happens when the organizational apparatus of a particular game goes bonkers. They pay cash on the order of a low 1000s. Comparing with BCCI, "For a four-day Ranji league game, such a player stands to make Rs 80,000 and for every five-day Ranji knockout game he will be paid Rs 1,00,000." http://www.hinduonnet.com/tss/tss2907/s ... 001700.htm}

There were obvious difficulties in grading players every month, particularly with the frequent entries and exits in the team but sources alleged that the IWHF contributed to the situation by being rather slack in its approach. City Limouzines officials corroborated the view stating that there were many months of inactivity when frequent reminders from the sponsor to the federation went unheard.

"We told them on many occasions to send the list of players to us so that we could clear the payments. We are committed to paying stipend to players and coaches and there has never been any delay from our end," a City Limouzines official told TOI. The official said the cheques were always drawn against the names of the players. "This way, we ensured the recipients got the money promptly. There are many players with limited sources of income. We didn't want any complaints from anyone." According to the official, the sponsor was only playing it safe, particularly after it found that the IWHF had not allegedly kept its word on two other issues. One was the publicity and advertisement which the federation had said the sponsor would get in major tournaments.

"Out of a total amount of Rs 1.05 crore to be handed over annually to the IWHF until the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Rs 50 lakh had to go to the players and the other half was to be given to the IWHF for publicity. But we weren't happy with the results or the visibility that we got. So we decided that we wouldn't pay them the other Rs 50 lakh," the official said. The remaining Rs 5 lakh, reserved for team jerseys and kitting, too hasn't been spent in a deserving fashion in the past, the official alleged.

The IWHF denied it had defaulted on the payments but admitted there had been a delay. {So why blame everyone except yourselves?} "There are difficulties in getting things done on time because we are functioning without an office," a federation official told TOI. "We have to prepare lists of players for every month and that requires time." The official insisted the players would be paid once they reach Delhi in the next few days en route to their respective international tours.

Pakistan's hockey officials are considering inviting India for a Test series on an offshore venue later this year. Qasim Zia, the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) president, said on Friday that the PHF has discussed the idea of playing matches on neutral venues with India and other major hockey-playing nations in a bid to revive Pakistan hockey. {Thats right, he does nt give an eff about India. His team is hugging the bottom of the table and he desperately wants to play someone to get practice. For all the hatred they spew against India as happened just recently, these H&D lacking beasts would nt mind flip-flopping a few days later. Say no to baki-satan in any name or form or sport. Boycott baki-satan. Baki-satan paindabutt}

"Our options are open," said Zia, a former hockey Olympian who is currently a central leader of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). "We want to revive Pakistan hockey and would not mind if the matches are arranged on neutral soil against top hockey teams, including India." {This maaki did nt flinch an eye last month to do a tit for tat and not come to the Punjab gold cup when his team was the one that would have gained more If that was unthinkable, how come neutral matches are now feasible? As they say, a baki's brain is ah-so-gaali.}

Pakistan and India have suspended sporting ties because of strained relations between the two governments over November's terror attacks in Mumbai that left over 170 people killed. Pakistan pulled out its team from a four-nation hockey tournament hosted by India from January 31 to February 9 in Chandigarh after India blocked its cricket team's tour of Pakistan. Pakistan also decided against sending its squash team for the Asian Junior Squash Championships to be played in Chennai later this month.

But Zia said those decisions were taken by the government and not the sport authorities. "We have no problems playing with India on some neutral venue," he said adding that hockey can be revived in the region with more matches between the two counties - once regarded as the powerhouses of the game at the world level. {Hockey will be revived in India, and there ends our end of the bargain. Fck the region.} Zia said the PHF has various neutral venues like Dubai in mind. Pakistan has not hosted a major hockey team since the 2004 Champions Trophy in Lahore as leading sides have stayed away from the country because of security apprehensions. {Finally someone had to say what the real reason is }

The other day, when someone addressed her as ‘Sania’, she corrected him quickly saying: “Are yaar, I achieved something which merits you to recognise me as Saina.”

Saina also admitted that it is not going to be easy for her any more in international events. “Definitely, there are many more to achieve like winning the All England Championship and the World Championship (to be held in Hyderabad) next year. I know the route to these big events is dotted with huge hurdles but I am more confident,” she said.

First time in the history of Indian badminton, Hyderabad will be hosting the World championship for men and women from August 8 to 13. “The tournament will be held at Gachibowli Stadium, where we have eight courts,” he added. Hyderabad will also host the India Open for the second time from March 24 to 29. Chowdary said that the Andhra Pradesh Badminton Association would formally submit a requisition to the Badminton Association of India to host the senior Nationals at Vijayawada for the year 2009-2010.

TT: Gujarat’s Pathik Mehta and Maharashtra lass Divya Deshpande emerged the key performers in the 70th senior National table tennis championships here on Saturday. Unseeded Pathik, ranked 32nd, showed great character and endurance while winning all his three matches on the day. His best came in the quarterfinals where he salvaged two matchpoints before turning the tables on India No. 1 Subhajit Saha. Unseeded Divya performed exceptionally well to show the defending champion and fourth seed Poulami Ghatak the door.

Second-seeded Neha Aggarwal was taken out in the pre-quarterfinals by another Maharashtra player, Ashlesha Bodas, 4-1. Four-time National champion Mouma Das made a comeback by beating third-seeded Madhurika Patkar in another big upset in the quarterfinals. Pathik, who plays in the Spanish first division, removed 13th ranked Subham Chowdhury in the second round. He then consumed sixth-ranked and seventh-seeded Devesh Karia in the pre-quarterfinals before plucking out Subhajit.

Sahu Mewalal, who died of old age troubles in a Kolkata nursing home on Saturday, was the most admired goal poacher of his time in the 1940s and 1950s. His short build made him all the more lovable. What he lacked in inches he made up with elusiveness, an eye for opportunities and openings and sure-shot aim.

For obvious reasons, comparisons, it is said, are best avoided. Still, for the benefit of the present young generation of soccer fans who may not even have heard of the pint-sized legend called Mewalal, much less seen him in action, let it be said he was the Indian version of Diego Maradona of his times. Maradona stands 5ft 4in his football boots. Mewa Lal, who played in an age when most Indians played barefooted, was even shorter. {And this bare-footed thing was why we did nt participate in the 1950 world cup when we had a good shot at winning it all. We could have matched Puskas & co, that is the opinion of famous football watchers http://www.fanline08.at/en/?p=1181}

Did anybody care to invite Mewalal when everyone in Kolkata was welcoming Maradona when he visited the city recently? One can't say for sure. But even if Mewalal might have been bed-ridden, it would have done his heart good to at least be remembered on the occasion.

Mewalal played in a different age. Football teams everywhere played in the 5-3-2-1 formation which had a special charm of its own, with goals being scored by centre-forwards following flying sprints and centres from the wings. And Mewalal was the most celebrated centre-forward of his time, a position he switched to, and made his own, after starting his career in the Kolkata league as a right-winger at 18.

Much of the credit for India's gold medal in the first ever Asian Games in 1951 at New Delhi's National Stadium, called Irwin Amphitheatre those days, belonged to Mewalal. His four goals included a spectacular long distance match-winner against Iran -- the only goal of the final. The story goes that even as he played his role in that famous victory, there was a bereavement back home in distant Kolkata. On instructions from Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, a Dakota aircraft was kept waiting at Safdarganj airport to fly Mewalal back home straight after the match, such was the regard Mewalal was held in.

Mewalal's death is the third sad blow that Indian football has suffered in a year. The Darjeeling-based Chandan Singh, centre-half of that 1951 Asian Games gold medal-winning team and goal-keeper Peter Thangaraj left this world earlier in the year. Each man was a football legend in his right.

http://ipl.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ ... 964337.cms Asked whether he had already made up his mind on retaining Dravid as the captain, Mallya said he will talk to the senior India batsman before taking a final call.

Somdev Devvarman's stellar show at the Chennai Open, where he ended runners-up, catapulted him to 154 in the latest ATP singles
tennis rankings issued on Monday. The Indian leapfrogged 48 places from his earlier ranking of 202. Somdev, with 562 points, continues to be India's numero uno singles player but the gap between him and second highest ranked Prakash Amritraj is widening as the latter is now placed 209, a loss of three places.

Somdev, playing in his maiden ATP Tour event final, lost in straight sets to Marin Cilic of Croatia, on Saturday. In the doubles, Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes hung on to their sixth and 10th position respectively. Both Bhupathi and Paes cut a sorry figure at the home event making early exits with their respective partners. {If only DDM will stop dissing the old horses when someone else arrives and whining later about where people are etc, it would be so much better. Does the DDM even bother to ask, why in a country of 1b+, a 35 yr+ Lee and Hesh are the top-dogs in doubles, why they are still the top-dogs in the world event somuchso their ranking has been well publicized in the previous line? Why is it that they have to open their foul mouths and pass on some stupid retorts which have no basis in rationality, everytime something happens? People win, people lose. Someone who deliberately loses cuts a sorry figure, someone who gives up without a fight despite being in good health cuts a sorry figure. Someone who is 35+ and having fought infinite battles for this country never cuts a sorry figure. Fatalist oiseaulish dorks, I wish they just shut up and watched the game instead of passing some ill-informed and stupid opinions.}

Meanwhile, Sania Mirza, who is all set to return to competitive tennis at Australian Open, was ranked 107th in the latest WTA singles rankings.

Somdev was born in Guwahati. His father Pravanjan Devvarman, a retired income tax commissioner, originally hails from Tripura. Somdev belongs to Tripura's royal family. He is the grandson of Tripura's late royal scion Bikramendra Kishore Debbarman, popularly known as Bidurkarta. Roy said: "Somdev's father Pravanjan was a blue in table tennis and cricket during his student life." {I believe thats an Oxford blue, a type of honor for a double sport talent -- something like the All American-type thingies.}

There was a sense of relief in the Indian tennis fraternity as now they have found a messiah in Somdev Devvarman who, they believe, possesses the grit and gumption to change the landscape of the game in the country. {Thats DDM striking us again, there is a relief in the DDM community. Somdev's presence was noticed by Jaideep Mukherjea and SP Misra long time back. He is now a DC member }

India's current Davis Cup non-playing captain S P Misra, former captain Jaideep Mukherjea and former Davis Cup player Akhtar Ali have no doubt that Somdev is the 'star' the country needed to give a fillip to the game. "It makes me very happy to see Somdev performing like this. He is very composed. He is a fighter and most importantly, he has the tennis brain," Mukherjea told PTI. "Definitely it is good for Indian tennis. Mahesh (Bhupathi) and Leander (Paes) have played a long innings and it's time for the youngsters to take over. His performance is a big boost for the tennis in India. More boys will come up now," he said.

Praising Somdev for his on-court attitude, Mukherjea said, "He is basically tough. He knows how to win the last point and in tennis, he wins who takes the last point." Misra too applauded Somdev for putting extra hours on making himself fit for the vigours of the tough Tour.

The AIFF has announced a 20-member squad for the upcoming international friendly against Hong Kong. The match will be played on Wednesday.

INDIA Squad:
Goalkeepers: Subrata Pal (East Bengal Club), Subhashish Roy Chowdhary (Mahindra United).
Defenders: Deepak Kumar Mondal (Mohun Bagan AC), Samir Naik (Dempo SC), Anwar Ali (JCT), Gouramangi Moirangthem Singh (Churchill Brothers SC), Mahesh Gawli (Dempo SC), Rakesh Masih (Mohun Bagan AC).
Midfielders: Steven Benedict Dias (Mahindra United), Anthony Pereira (Dempo SC), Clifford Miranda (Dempo SC), Renedy Potsangbam Singh (East Bengal Club), Mehraj din Wadoo (East Bengal Club), Climax Lawrence (Dempo SC), Naduparambil Pappachan Pradeep (Mahindra United), Baldeep Singh Jr (JCT).
Forwards: Baichung Bhutia (Captain, Mohun Bagan AC), Sunil Chetri (East Bengal Club), Abhishek Yadav (Mumbai FC), Sushil Kumar Singh (Mahindra United).
Officials: Bob Houghton (Chief Coach), Savio Medeira (Assistant Coach), Antonio Marcos Pacheco (Goalkeeper Coach), Dr Gagan Kapoor (Doctor), Suresh Babu Kavuluri (Physio), Pradip Chowdhary (Manager).

The Major League Soccer (MLS) has expressed its interest to sign Indian players for the upcoming season. Indian internationals Sunil Chetri and Steven Dias have been already handed contracts by an US-based agent. Other players have been also approached in the last few days. Midfielder Steven Dias has reportedly signed a pre-contract with the agent, before leaving for Hong Kong with the Indian national team. Meanwhile, striker Sunil Chetri has asked for a few more days, before giving a final nod. The US pro-league MLS teams sign players based on the draft system. In a draft, teams take turns selecting from a pool of eligible players. When a team selects a player, the team receives exclusive rights to sign that player to a contract, and no other team in the league may sign the player.

A budget was set at Rs142m (£1.19m), the statement claimed, but had overrun to such an extent that the final projected cost was Rs471m (£3.94m).

Pakistan’s top squash players may miss several leading squash tournaments in 2009 because of prevailing tensions with India, writes Khalid Hussain. Over the last few years, India has emerged as a major destination for international squash and will be hosting a number of important regional and world squash events this year. Pakistan and India have suspended bilateral sporting ties because of strained relations between the two governments over November’s terror attacks in Mumbai that left 170 people dead.

The Indian government blocked its cricket team’s tour of Pakistan that was lined up for January-February this year in the wake of the Mumbai attacks. In a retaliatory move, Pakistan refused to clear its hockey team’s visit of India to play in a four-nation tournament in Chandigarh to be held from January 29-February 8.

Like cricket and hockey, Pakistan squash is also suffering because of it. Pakistan had to pull out of the 2009 Asian Junior Squash Championships which gets underway in the south Indian city of Chennai later this week after the government refused to clear the visit, citing security reasons. The Pakistanis were supposed to defend both the team and individual titles in the biennial tournament which will be played from January 16-23.

Sources told ‘The News’ on Monday that the Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) recently approached the Asian Squash Federation (ASF), asking it to either move the tournament out of India or reshuffle the dates so that Pakistani players can take part in the tournament. However, ASF turned down PSF’s request, saying that it was too late to make any changes to either the venue or the schedule of the tournament.

Now, Pakistan’s squash officials are worried over a few other major international squash event to be played in India later this year. Pakistan’s players will be vying for the title in the 2009 World Junior Men’s Individual Championship. However, it remains to be seen whether they would be able to compete in the event which will be held in Chennai from July 28 to August 2. Chennai will also play host to the World Junior Women’s World Championships from July 28 to August 8. Though Pakistani girls will not be counted among the favourites but players like Maria Toor Pakay — the country’s number one — will be competing in it if the visit is cleared by the government.

That’s not all. Chennai will also be the venue of the World Doubles Championships. The event was supposed to take place there from December 15-20 last year but was postponed because of the Mumbai terror attacks. The decision was taken by World Squash Federation (WSF) Championships Committee Director and on-site Technical Director George Mieras, following consultation with the WSF Management Committee and advice earlier given to the Australian team by the country’s High Commission in India ‘not to travel to Chennai’.

“The Championships Committee will seek, in conjunction with Squash Rackets Federation of India, to find a suitable date to reschedule the International Doubles during 2009,” Mieras had stated at that time.

According to sources, PSF is considering the option of requesting WSF to change the venue of the events so that their players can feature in them. However, it is highly unlikely that the WSF which is currently headed by Chennai-based entrepreneur — N Ramachandran — will accept the request.

The Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) has refused to send its team to tour Pakistan for a proposed hockey series due to their internal problems, a top Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) official said on Monday. Pakistan had invited Malaysia to play a hockey series against the national team here in February. PHF was waiting for MHF’s final decision for the last few days but finally they refused to visit Pakistan, said the official.

An MHF official said in a message that the foreign coach for their team is yet to be appointed and they also don’t have the proper preparation for the proposed tour. PHF secretary Asif Bajwa said that PHF will now request Korea, China and Japan to come to Pakistan and play a hockey series for the preparations of the Asia Cup to be held in May in Dubai.

Indian Junior team currently in Sydney to participate in the Australian Youth Olympics had a satisfying outing in the run up. The Indian colts led by Diwakar Ram drew the hosts Australia 2-2 on Monday. Indian team was trailing by two goals at half-time. On resumption, Diwakar Ram and Gaurav scored a goal apiece to bring parity.

Diwakar converted a penalty corner while Gaurav's was a stroke conversion. According to a team member, the turf is new, raw and bouncy. "It is better to have as much practice as possible before the tournament begins." The Competition begins on 14th and ends 18th.

http://www.hindu.com/2009/01/13/stories ... 420900.htm What next after White Tiger and Slumdog Millionaire? An opera?

The MCC’s departure from the norms that governed the Raj was all the more striking because in another part of the sporting field the British were striking a very different attitude. The year 1928 was also the one when India made its mark on the international hockey scene. In many ways this was a more dramatic entrance than anything Indian cricket had achieved at that stage.

That year saw India take part in Olympic hockey for the first time at the Amsterdam Olympics. Indian hockey’s rise had been dramatic. It was only two years previously that India had played its first international matches against New Zealand. In Amsterdam India won gold and after that for the next 5 Olympics it kept on winning the hockey gold. It only lost its first ever hockey match in the Olympics in 1960, 32 years after it had played its first match and 13 years after Indian independence. During this period India played 30 matches in the Olympics and won them all, scoring 197 goals while conceding only 8 – a stupendous winning run in any sport. But there was a revealing British reaction to these Indian triumphs.

The moment India emerged as a hockey nation in the 1928 Olympics Great Britain withdrew. Until India emerged Britain had been the supreme hockey nation in the world. It had won gold in 1908 and 1920 (the only two Olympics before 1928 when the competition was held). But with India rampant Great Britain did not want to take part. It only came back in 1948 a year after Indian independence when for good measure, despite playing in front of its home crowd, it was thrashed 4–0.

David Wallechinsky the historian of Olympic records writes:
"Ever since India first appeared on the international hockey field Great Britain had studiously avoided playing the Indian team, apparently afraid of the embarrassment of losing to one of its colonies."

Certainly the very nature of Olympics where national anthems are played made India v. Great Britain much more of a nationalistic contest. This was emphasised in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, popularly known as the Nazi Olympics due to the propaganda use of it made by Hitler. Although India marched out under the British flag before the match the team gathered in the dressing room and saluted the tricolour of the Indian National Congress. It was said to be the idea of Dyan Chand, the greatest player in hockey history. It inspired the Indians and they beat Hitler’s Nordic supermen 8–1, with Dyan Chand, himself, scoring 6 goals playing barefoot. The manner in which he scored the goals was Indian hockey at its best, the fact that he did not wear shoes marked out his Indianess in a manner that no Indian cricketer could have emulated. Not that Indian leaders cared much for this. In 1932 with the Indians struggling to send a team to the Los Angeles Olympics Gandhi was approached for help and asked, ‘What is hockey?’ The British, however, understood well enough its potent nationalist power. But if the British avoided Indian hockey for twenty years, fearing that defeat might make white Englishmen look inferior to brown Indians and cast a shadow over the Raj, they clearly had no such concerns about encouraging Indian cricket.

So much so that when the IOC toyed with the idea of dropping hockey as an event in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, India offered to host the event separately in New Delhi. The success of the Indian hockey teams in beating Western teams demonstrated to the nationalists that Indians could compete on equal terms with the West. The success of the Indian hockey teams was such that after independence the Ministry of Sport, not surprisingly, chose hockey as the official ‘national game’ of India.

Argentina coach has named a strong team for the forthcoming India series. The four-match series will take place at Mar del Plata, where recently the Argentina Hockey Federation has organized a Champions Trophy event.

Skipper Diwakar Ram and Mandeep Antil scored a goal each to hand the India U-21 men's hockey team a 2-1 victory over hosts Australia in th
e four-nation Australian Youth Olympics Festival (AYOF) at the Olympic Park Hockey Centre on Wednesday. However, it was a contrasting result for the Indian girls team as it went down 1-3 to Great Britain.

The Indian colts, under coach A K Bansal started from where they had left off in Argentina and put the hosts under pressure from the word go. Expectedly, the strong start soon materialised into a lead, with Antil finding the net in the 11th minute through a beautifully worked out field goal. Centre-half Vivek and Amir Khan worked in tandem on the right side of the midfield to set up the goal for Antil who did no mistake in sounding the board.

The Indian forwards and midfielders' seamless movement soon resulted in a 2-0 lead when captain Ram converted a penalty corner in the 25th minute, driving to the right of the Australian goalkeeper. Australia had a series of chances in the dying minutes of the first half earning three short corners in the space of six minutes, but India custodian Mrinal Chaubey stood like a rock. Australia, starting the second half with a two-goal deficit, tried hard to break the Indian defence but were caught on the wrong foot by the pace of the Indian forwards and midfielders. The hosts did manage to pull one back in the 66th minute when Tristan White scored off a short corner to make it 2-1. Australia had a wonderful opportunity to level the scores in the final minutes of the match but the Indian defence was upto their task.

In the other matches of the day, Malaysia held Great Britain 4-4 in the men's section while Australia thrashed the United States 4-0 in the women's category. The Indian colts will like to carry forward their winning momentum when they face Great Britain on Thursday, while the girls will have an uphill task at hand to stay afloat in the tournament as they take on mighty Australians in their second match.

The Indian boys hockey team continued with their rampaging form and trounced Great Britain 6-1 in the second league match of the Australian Youth Olympic Festival (AYOF) at the Olympic Hockey Centre to book their berth in the final of the four-nation tournament. However, the girls team lost their second successive match that dashed their hopes of progressing to the title round. The girls had gone down 1-3 to Great Britain on Wednesday and suffered a 2-3 defeat to Australia on Thursday.

In the Under-21 men's encounter, skipper Diwakar Ram (7th and 16th minutes) was at his best with the dragflicks while striker Pramod Kumar (38th, 46th) too joined the party along with Danish Mujtaba (26th) and Jaykaran (66th). The Britishers started proceedings with much vigour but as the game wore on, India wrested the initiative and an early goal opened the floodgates. Diwakar made no mistake in handing India the lead with a perfect dragflick from a short corner.

Great Britain tried to forge their way back into the game with some counterattacks but India managed to thwart their advances. And at the other end, had it not been for British goal-keeper Ian Scanlon, who blocked several attempts in the first half, India's margin of victory could have been bigger. Despite Scanlon's heroics, Diwakar doubled the lead with his second in the 16th minute following a penalty stroke. In the 25th minute, the Indians had another opportunity to increase the lead but this time Diwakar was off target before heavy rains and strong winds hit the ground.

The match went on despite the inclement weather and a minute later Mujtaba made it 3-0 for India, netting home a rebound from a penalty corner. Great Britain had an opportunity to reduce the deficit in the dying stages of the opening half, but custodian Mrinal Chaubey's neat work saw India go into the breather with a 3-0 cushion. Pramod scored two quick goals after the change of ends through rebound hits from short corners to take the game away from their rivals. Great Britain managed to pull one back in the 65th minute through Catlin Nick but a minute later India's Jaykaran completed formalities with a beautifully worked out field goal.

Despite India's strong showing in the tournament and their progress to Sunday's final, coach AK Bansal issued a stern warning to his players not to be complacent in the last league match against Malaysia on Saturday. "The boys played exceedingly well. In both matches they displayed technically sound hockey. We are definitely through to the finals but we would like to finish off the league stage with an all-win record," Bansal said. Bansal, under whom the colts have performed exceedingly well in the international circuit so far, expressed happiness over the team's preparations for the Junior World Cup to be held later this year in Singapore and Malaysia.

"Our World Cup preparation is well on track. In all the tournaments we are implementing the strategies keeping the World Cup in mind." After a rest day on Friday, Indian boys will take on Malaysia in their last league match on Saturday, while their female counterpart will be up against USA.

India's new tennis sensation Somdev Devvarman, ranked 154th, will play his second round qualifying match on Friday against 207th ranked Lukasz Kubot of Poland.

Thumbing the nose at Centre’s "Indian only" policy and armed with a Delhi High Court order, a British national represented India at the Asian Junior Squash Championship that began in Chennai on Friday. Protesting loudly against the breach caused by the HC order permitting the British national, Karm Kumar, to represent India, the Centre pleaded with a Bench comprising Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan and Justice P Sathasivam for an urgent hearing and a possible stay on the HC order.

However, the Bench said it was impossible to accommodate the Centre’s plea at the last minute and posted it for hearing on Monday, by which time it would be rendered void as the championship would be over on Sunday. The sports ministry in December 2008 had dashed the hopes of Kumar, a junior squash player, to represent India at the championship by brandishing the new rule which said only Indians could represent the country in national and international events. However, Kumar scripted an exception to the rule through a favourable order from the Delhi HC.

Appearing for the Centre, advocate Rajshekhar Rao requested the apex court for an urgent listing of its appeal against the HC order and for a stay to stop Kumar from representing India at the Asian championship. Kumar, who holds a British passport, is of Indian origin and had challenged the decision of the Squash Racket Federation of India to restrict representation in the event to Indian sportspersons alone.

Incidentally, Kumar lost his first round match to Kamran Khan of Malaysia.

Spaniard Jose Brasa should be able to land the job of India's hockey coach without much of a hassle as he says pay package is not his prime concern and he is only looking for a decent tenure with a motivated support staff to work with. "Money is not a problem at all. I am more interested in working with highly technical people till at least the 2012 London Olympic and also I need an assurance that I will get a compact team of professionals to assist me."

Brasa said that the players must get the right kind of people and technical gadgets to train with if they have to be worldbeaters. The Spaniard is happy that the Indian officials are receptive to his ideas and for him that's half the job done. He, however, made it clear that he had not given any formal wishlist to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).

"The talks with the Indian hockey officials have been very positive. They are keen to make India a top hockey nation again. I hope I will get the job and I can make a worthwhile contribution in motivating the players to perform well. I have to do a little bit of study on the programme of the Indian senior team for the next few years. I am talking with my colleagues. India chose to close themselves from technology and science for a long time and they have to make use of more and more technology to be on par with other major hockey nations."

Brasa also said he would like to share his knowledge with as many Indian coaches as he could as these coaches would be working at the supply line of players. Barsa had made a two-hour powerpoint presentation to the members of the ad hoc committee for hockey set up by the IOA. A member of the committee said the presentation was highly impressive as it had dealt with various aspects of the game as well as man management.

The Spaniard's stress was on fitness of the players as he thought the ills of Indian hockey began with the introduction of synthetic turf in 1975. He rounded off a series of meetings on Thursday-Friday interacting with IOA chief Suresh Kalmadi and the officials of the sports ministry. Curiously, like the previous overseas coach of India, Ric Charleworth, {RicC was not the coach, not officially, he was the unofficial man in charge put there by the FIH cabal led by Brinda. The previous overseas coach officially was Gerard Rach!} Barsa has also trained his country's women's team to an Olympic gold medal, in 1992 at Barcelona.

India's new hockey captain Sandeep Singh's comments that the team does not require a foreign coach has irked the members of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) ad-hoc committee. A top ad-hoc committee member said that the appointment of overseas coach is a policy matter and it is not for the captain or any player to go public on it. If the players talk out of turn and air their views in public, the authority will have to think of gagging them. {Yea, like they are school children. If the ad hoc committee had been doing its job and bringing some fortune for the players due to their diligent efforts, they would have the moral compass to indulge in shutting off players for the good of the system. As of now, the committee is a lame duck on paper and only slightly better than KPSG & co. They have to earn the gagging rights, as simple as that. Sandeep Singh talks because he is the man in charge of the team and he is comfortable with Harendra Singh, Clarence Lobo, Ramandeep Singh & co. And I assume, the majority of the Indian team is ok with them or else they will also make noises to contrast Sandeep Singh. The ad hoc committee has been sitting on the coach issue for the last 8 months now, KPSG was dismounted following the Santiago debacle and the sting on JothiK. They promised to appoint a coach on the first day, and they are YET TO. And they are still searching for someone. In the meanwhile they let Harendra Singh be the man in charge without letting him know how long he would be in charge. They have refused to let the folks go and play more actively anywhere (let alone furrin lands), the senior team has been rotting to hell playing Beighton cup and Murugappa trophy etc, not even PHL organized, no money for anyone, the womens team has been sucking its thumb with administrative chaos, there is pity all around with only the jrs doing well so far and getting enough exposure to show us what they are made of, there has been internal dissension between Aslam Sher Khan and Ajitpal Singh with APS preferring KPSG back in to the limelight, and despite all this the ad hoc committee can gag its players. Eff you!}

"Sandeep has no business to say whether there is need for a foreign coach or not, and that too when we are short-listing names for the post," the official said. "We are looking into the circumstances in which Sandeep has made the statement as a strong lobby is working overtime to scuttle the appointment of an overseas coach. We want to find out if Sandeep was under any pressure to speak out on a subject which clearly does not fall under his purview. He will be told not to go to the media with such irresponsible comments."

Sandeep was appointed the captain of the team for the four-match away series against Argentina. Harender Singh is currently the coach in-charge of the team.

Captain Diwakar Ram slammed four goals including two late strikes to help India eke out a 5-5 draw against Malaysia in an inconsequential
final league match of the men's hockey event in the Australian Youth Olympic Festival on Saturday. In a high-scoring crowd stunner at the Hockey Centre, Sydney Olympic Park, Diwakar converted four penalty corners to save the day for the Indians.

The two sides were levelled 3-3 at interval with Diwakar contributing two goals for India till then. He then converted two penalty corners in the final nine minutes after his side was down 3-5 till the 61st minute. The Indian colts will now take on Australia, whom they have defeated in their earlier league encounter, in the summit clash on Sunday.

In the girls' event, India at last registered their first victory of the tournament, beating USA 2-0, though the result came too late as the eves were already out of contention for the summit clash after losing their first two matches. They will be up against the same opponents, USA, in the bronze medal match.

In the pulsating boy's encounter, India took the lead in the seventh minute through Jay Karan but Malaysia equalised when Abdul Gaffar found the net two minutes later from a short corner. Diwakar doubled the lead in the 19th minute. However, Ahmad Tajuddin helped Malaysia made the scoreline level in the 21st minute only to see the India skipper regain the lead three minutes later. But Gaffar struck again for Malaysia in the 33rd minute to see both the teams go into the breather locked at 3-3.

With Indians reigning at almost all levels, three-time World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand feels it is high time India starts hosting top events to take the sport forward in the country. {Yes, thats what the chinese do, they conduct category 18+ tournaments, and use that as a pawn for getting invites in select big ticket tournaments. India needs to conduct at least 3-4 category 19+ events every year. Make it the Metros open or something like that.}

"India should now work on hosting more and more top-level tournaments, including category tournaments. It's very important for the growth of the sport in the country," Anand said. Asked about the minimum number of tournaments that should be organised, Anand said any number would be an improvement. "Actually no number can be enough but since there are hardly any top events in the country at the moment, any number would be an improvement," he told reporters during his visit to the capital city.

Except the women's world crown, Indian players bagged all top honours last year, including the youth and age-group titles. Besides, India also boasts of as many as 18 Grandmasters and an umpteen number of International Masters. However, Grandmasters like K Sasikiran and P Harikrishna, who are the top Indian players after Anand, have so far failed to capture people's imagination. {To move up the ladder in terms of top 20 needs that final blow. That comes with deep insights + long practice + good computer help + undeniable determination. Anand was a bit slow in the early 90s, he was world no 6 or so for a looooong period. And then around 97-98 he quickly moved up the ladder. Sasikiran is 28 or so, in another 3-4 years he will be in the top 7-8 players if he climbs the way he is doing now. He is now in the top 21+ zone based on elo fluctuation, not bad at all. We need more such folks go higher up. Hari is still hovering at the 2690 zone, he needs to go 27h+ before he can develop more. Thats not going to be possible unless he beats folks higher ranked than him. Same case for Negi. Too much inbreeding and happiness to be the king in the pond syndrome. Go for the stars, the world is yours.}

Although India has such a large talent pool in chess, Anand said, it was still some distance away to catch up with superpower Russia. "We're narrowing the gap with Russia but they are still ahead on many counts. We can't write them off so soon," he felt. On who would be the best player to step into his shoes, Anand quipped that "I am still playing chess and not considering retirement for sometime". {Thanks for the jhapad}

Stan_Savljevic wrote:Ok, I have it from an authoritative source here.

So much so that when the IOC toyed with the idea of dropping hockey as an event in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, India offered to host the event separately in New Delhi. The success of the Indian hockey teams in beating Western teams demonstrated to the nationalists that Indians could compete on equal terms with the West. The success of the Indian hockey teams was such that after independence the Ministry of Sport, not surprisingly, chose hockey as the official ‘national game’ of India.

The Golden Years of Indian Hockey: 'We Climb the Victory Stand'
Author: Boria Majumdar
Published in: journal International Journal of the History of Sport, Volume 25, Issue 12 October 2008 , pages 1592 - 1611.

If you want a pdf of it, pass me your email address. As a side note, for the first time I saw my grandfather's name cited in an article . All the old oiseaules in my family who had dumped his records cos they could nt maintain it .

http://cricket.timesofindia.indiatimes. ... 996856.cms Virat Kohli

Hetul Shah, nine-year-old grandmaster slayer
13.01.2009 – This has to be one for the records. At the Parsvnath Open in New Delhi the nine-year-old Hetul Shah defeated an experienced grandmaster, with the black pieces, in a regular tournament game with FIDE time controls. His opponent was 31-year-old Kasakh GM Nurlan Ibrayev, rated almost 600 points higher than the lad, and now probably the world's most embarrassed GM. Games and pictures.

Deepak Thakur's brace scripted India's 2-1 win against Argentina in the first Test of the four-match Series at the Panam National Stadium at here on Monday. The veteran Indian Oil striker sounded the boards on the 18th and 41st minutes, while Matias Paredes reduced the margin for Argentina in the 65th minute with a penalty corner deflection.

It was, however, the hosts who looked more attacking of the two sides as they forced their first penalty corner as early as in the fourth minute but Indian goalkeeper Baljit Singh foiled Juan Ignacio Gilardi's drag-flick. India soon settled down with controlled midfield play from VS Vinaya and Gurbaj Singh constantly setting up forwards Rajpal Singh, Tushar Khandker and Prabhjot Singh.

India could have taken the lead in the seventh minute when Rajpal sent a sizzling cross to Thakur, whose deflection was well taken by Argentina goalkeeper Juan Manuel Vivaldi and off the rebound, Thakur shot wide. Argentina attempted numerous forays with rapid interchanges and overheads but they were superbly checked by deep defender and old India warhorse Dilip Tirkey. However, on one occasion, Mario Almada managed to get past Tirkey but Baljit dived to his right to bring off a spectacular save.

India finally took the lead in the 18th minute when Rajpal intercepted in the centre to set up Khandker. The wily Jhansi lad then pushed to the overlapping Prabhjot who dodged past two Argentine defenders releasing to Thakur who did not make any mistake this time. Argentina soon had a couple of chances to restore parity from penalty corners but on both occasions, Baljit foiled Pedro Ibarra's flicks. India nearly scored another goal in the 28th minute after the forwards combined to open Argentina's defence seams but custodian Vivaldi checked Thakur's deflection.

India earned their first penalty corner three minutes later after Gilardi had body-checked Shivendra Singh. The opportunity, however, went abegging as skipper Sandeep Singh could not beat Vivaldi with his power packed drag-flick. Argentina picked up the match-pace in the second half and created spaces from their midfield where Lucas Rey and Tomas Argento fed accurately to the wings. The hosts earned another penalty corner in the 37th minute after a soft giveaway by Rajpal. India was lucky to survive after Gilardi's go at the goal was stopped on the line by Khandker.

India found the mark again in the 41st minute after Sandeep Singh sent an accurate slapshot into the Argentine circle where it was not controlled by Facundo Callioni. The ever-ready Deepak Thakur seized the opportunity and pushed it past bewildered Vivaldi. Thakur again led a sortie, which resulted in another penalty corner for India, The well-executed flick by Sandeep was saved on the line by Matias Vila to India's disappointment.

India conceded two more soft penalty corners as Sandeep Singh was found wanting in his defensive tackles. Argentina, however, could not capitalise as Baljit again stood out. The uninterrupted attacks continued on India and Argentina finally reduced the margin when Paredes converted a penalty corner to make it 2-1. The second test will be played here tomorrow.

Ace squash player Joshna Chinappa entered the third final of a WISPA tournament in recent times when she moved to the title round in the $11,000 Liberty Bell Open in Philadelphia. The National champion achieved this after defeating World No. 17 and second seed Jaclyn Hawkes of New Zealand 8-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-8. She meets former World No. 1 and top seed, Vanessa Atkinson of the Netherlands, in the final.

Joshna had won two back-to-back titles in Malaysia two months ago. In this tournament, where she is seeded fourth, Joshna defeated qualifier Miranda Ranieir of Canada 11-7, 8-11, 11-13, 11-9, 11-7 in the first round. In the quarterfinals, she beat Kylie Lindsay of New Zealand 10-12, 11-4, 11-8, 11-6.

Seedings at the Asian junior squash championships were vindicated on Sunday as the top two players in both boys’ and girls’ categories stormed into the finals. While Malaysian Low Wee Wern and India’s Dipika Pallikal set up a rematch of their British Junior Open encounter earlier this month, Hong Kong’s Leo Au and second seed Ivan Yuen posted convincing victories over Indian opponents in their respective boys’ semifinals.

Dipika was the lone cheery spot for India on a day when two of its boys went down. Pitted against Korean Song Sung-Mi in the semifinal, she ran up to a comfortable 6-1 lead in the opener. The Korean fought back to make it 6-6, before the Indian racked up five straight points to take the game. The second game, which included an acrobatic stretch split by the Indian, was a rout. Dipika scampered to 9-3 and closed it with minimal effort at 11-4. With two games in the red, the Song finally tuned herself up to good effect in the third. Matching Dipika shot for shot, she stayed with her rival and did not give away any easy points.

But after putting in all the hard work, Song’s record got stuck at 11-11, cracking under a whippy forehand crosscourt by Dipika. Another error handed the Indian a spot in the final where her nemesis Wern, who swept aside Liu Tsz Ling of Hong Kong in 23 minutes, awaits her. It was a sad though expected turn of affairs in the boys category. A match between two indefatigable players was won by the one with stronger legs.

Ravi Dixit, known for his quicksilver moves in local squash circles, was outrun by a faster and fitter Leo Au. The top seed, though, was tested by Dixit in the first game. With a deceptive drop shot that he used to good effect, Dixit stayed abreast and equalised the game score at 11-11. That was to be his last hurrah, as Au asserted his superiority and closed the game in the next two points. The Hong Kong lad then ran away with the next two games as Dixit somewhat lost interest. Speaking later, Au said he expected a “tough contest” against Ivan Yuen in the final. “Ivan is a very good player. The last time I had beaten him was in five games. My chances are 50-50 tomorrow (Monday),” he added.

The recipient of such gracious praise from his rival, Ivan beat Aditya Jagtap in the other semifinal. Armed with an arrogant backhand, the Malaysian made Aditya — not the most of graceful players in any situation — look like a bumbling novice for most of the first two games. Aditya came close in the third game, taking nine points off Ivan, but it was all a lame consolation for a 27-minute loss.

The results (Semifinals):
Boys: Leo Au (HK) bt Ravi Dixit (Ind) 13-11, 11-3, 11-6; Ivan Yuen (Mas) bt Adtiya Jagtap (Ind) 11-5, 11-5, 11-9; Girls: Low Wee Wern (Mas) bt Liu Tsz Ling (HK) 11-8, 11-7, 11-5; Dipika Pallikal (Ind) bt Song Sung-Mi (Kor).

Ram Singh Yadav slipped one place from 10th in 2008 to 11th at the Mumbai Marathon 2009 men’s overall placings. He is happy, firstly because the timing is lower (2:18:03 against 2:18:23 in 2008). Secondly for being able to make use of the first major opportunity after being forced out of the Beijing Olympic Games squad. “I have proved myself again, competing alongside Kenyans and other Africans in an international-class field. After missing the Beijing Olympics, I hope this performance will get me an entry into the Commonwealth Games 2010,” he said.

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) opted to leave him out from the 2008 Olympics contingent for failing to attain the ‘B’ grade qualifying time. For the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, the qualifying standard has not been announced yet. Indian marathon coach, K.S. Mathew, feels that even if the IOA retains the Beijing standard of 2:18:20 as the criteria for direct entry, Ram Singh has made the grade after his Mumbai run.

The athlete is grateful to an unknown Kenyan among the elite athletes for urging him to continue. “At one point, I fell back and was aiming to complete the race when a Kenyan running ahead, whose name I don’t know, turned back and asked me to catch up so that both can run together. “I didn’t know whether my legs would hold, but gradually started to match strides with him and running felt comfortable. Nearing the finish, I was running alone again, otherwise a faster time in the 2:16 range was possible,” said India’s best male performer employed with the Indian Army.

Think before writing off the Ad-hoc Committee

It is easy to be pessimistic and easier to make sweeping statements. One such occasion has been witnessed recently. Almost anybody who is somebody in our hockey circle have something bad to comment about the Ad-hoc Committee -- and jump into dismissing them out-right. Expectations of the nation rose logarithmically after the IOA dissolved the errant IHF. {Wondering about the use of the word, logarithmically here. If there is an icon for "Bulb", I could have used it}

The ad-hoc committee fell short of the nation’s expectation. They failed to put in place any image building or confidence building exercises. They were old-fashioned, wasted and idled in the first three or four months before doing something notable. Having said this, it is better to see things beyond the prism of personalities. In stead of x or y in the Adhoc Committee is good or bad, let us restrict our analysis to actions they have done or failed to carry out.

1) Joaquim was continued as chief coach till he played truant. Gill’s appointee AK Bansal was also continued. Joaquim and Bansal issues pointed to their belief of continuity.

2) For the first time in the history, hockey players were asked to search for the National Chief coach. Unfortunately, they messed up, their choice MK Kaushik played a dodge, which gave a bad name to the adhoc committee for no fault of them.

3) Hyderabad Junior Asia Cup was held admirably well; Adhoc Committee Chairman could muster more than enough sponsorship for the event.

4) Visit and exchange tours of Junior and Senior teams with Pakistan arranged, but fell through for reasons beyond their control.

5) Junior and Senior Teams Argentina tours organized -- it is important because India will be playing a major tournament there this year end.

6) FIH approval obtained for Punjab Gold Cup in which world no 1 and 4 teams will take place. Significantly, Netherlands and Germany were convinced of sending strong teams and when Pakistan had to cancel the trip, a substitute was immediately found.

7) World Cup retained for Delhi. {Well, this is not much of a big deal except that the ad-hoc committee finally got some sense}

Drawn up a reasonable calendar for this year (NZ tour, Europe Tour, Asian CT etc). {This Asian CT thing is a bit suspect, otherwise its ok. Actually what is not said here is that like the bakis in cricket, our hockey team was starved of any decent matches last year}

9) Selection Committee was given full freehand to select both junior and senior teams, and till now no one has pointed a finger at the Ad-hoc committee of interfering in their job. With a result, we almost have the same core in both junior and senior teams, Harendera even got the luxury of so many recalls he deemed fit. Yes, some selectors are unhappy, and they plant stories in the media. They are upset because they were not sent as Managers or Observers -- or their choices for different posts were not agreed.

10) Adhoc Committee roped in two of the familiar hockey faces, Pargat Singh and Jagbir Singh, as Director (Projects) and Director (Planning) respectively. Now it is upto them to deliver, Pargat is already giving shape to the double-leg 4-Nation in Chandigarh. Jagbir is closely advising the adhoc committee, though we do not have access to his Planning part.

11) If one has to see for the results on the field, it is not bad either. Junior Asia Cup Gold, Azlan Shah Silver, AYOF Silver, Test Series win over the reigning Jr. World Cup Champions Argentina, and Seniors are also on the verge of winning their ongoing series.

12) When have we got a media release after each match played, as we are getting nowadays? Because of this new initiative only, print and visual media covered last three international events of India. In January last year, India played a 8-Nation tournament and won the silver, even results were not published in the media. {This is not a big deal in a balance sheet even though it may mean much to mediafolks} Indian hockey certainly deserves a better media management, but as of now some step has been taken and something is better than nothing at all.

13) Indians have given an assurance to the FIH -- when the issue of Richard Charlesworth’s return came up – to consider another nominee of them for the national chief coach. So, we have here Jose Brasa. His appointment or somebody else’s is to honour our commitment under Promoting Indian Hockey Project. {So that explains why the ad-hoc committee was pissed off when Sandeep Singh said "We prefer Harendra Singh". Even though the ad-hoc comm may have preferred to retain Harendar, Clarence Lobo and Ramandeep Singh exactly as they are now, there is something else going on from the FIH. That explains confusion. And KPS Gill was trying hard to avoid such bullshitting from the ooparwaale.} This committee has been mentioning Harendera as Coach in charge in all their official communication and press briefs, indicating what is in their mind. Therefore, one cannot reasonably claim they were not aware of a foreign coach being appointed.

Yes, this committee could have held the IHF election which it did not, giving rise to the speculation that they are interested to continue forever. Certainly they have failed to understand ad-hoc mechanism cannot become a permanent one. The best way is to install a democratic IHF, if that does not happen due to court or due to their greed, we have every right to put pressure on them.

It does not mean this committee is useless. Yes, there are useless people in the committee, then so also in the selection committee. Why do we point out at adhoc committee alone for criticism, and treating the Selection Committee as a holy cow. First three months after Gill’s dissolution, these former Olympians were only canvassing and fighting for themselves, culminating in Ajit Pal replacing Aslam Sher Khan as chairman.

If you just go by the action – that too if they can install a foreign coach at least – adhoc committee does not deserve any admonition, more so after the exit of ornamental, deadwood like Randhir Singh. {Randhir Singh is the "permanent" secretary of IOA. He has been around for ages now. In his famous shooting days, he was next only to Karni Singh in talent. Many Asiad golds etc to credit. Missed out something in OG by a whisker. That does not mean anything about organizational talent.}

Government of India has conferred former Punjab Police's Balbir Singh with the prestigious Padamshree award. Balbir Singh, born in Sansarpur near Jalandhar, is settled in Jalandhar after retiring from Punjab Police in 2001. Balbir, a forward, won gold at the 1964 Olympics and 1966 Asian Games, besides bronze at the 1968 Mexico Olympics. Balbir made his debut in 1963 in the Lyon International tournament, which India won. Balbir also played Senior Nationals for about two decades. He has been a forward, positioning at wings or at centre, showing his versatality. "Am happy I got Government of India's top civilian award", said Balbir, who retired as Deputy Inspector General of Police.

So much of sacrifice goes into the making of a hockey player – stick2hockey.com has the very recent one – that not many of us are even aware of it. Junior India’s striker Birendra Lakra ‘s father dies in Orissa, but he was not told of the demise till he returned to India five days later. Ignace Lakra, 50, died of asthma related illness on 12th January at Rourkela. This information was not provided to Birendra who was then playing for India in the Australian Youth Olympic Festival in Sydney, Australia.

“He normally calls me once or twice from the tours. He did not call this time. Even had he called we would not have informed him of this death. Because, he will be upset, his game will also be affected. After all he was playing for the country. Had it been a nearby country, at least he could have come for the cremation, from Sydney it is near impossible, what is use then in letting him know of this,” said his coach Raju Kant Saini. “In any case he is not going to reverse the tragedy”.

Birendra Lakra is a trainee of Rourkela based SAIL Hockey Academy of which Raju is the coach. Birendra Lakra shot into the limelight when he scored all the four goals that his SAIL Academy scored in the final of the last year Junior National Championship. His graduation to national camp and then for Junior India is only a natural corollary. The coach did not even want to inform Birendra of this news when the team landed in Delhi, but it seemed he got the news through other friends. “I wanted to avoid him the trauma of traveling long distance with sadness. But when I received him at the Railways Station he told he knew it’, Raju elaborated. His father was cremated the same day of his death. Ironically enough, the late Lakra was working in Rourkela Steel Plant hospital.

In the recent past, we had such a sad episode. Tushar Khandkar’s father died when he was playing in the 2005 Junior World Cup. Despite the tragedy, the great heart decided not to return. Does the Indian public know of these specs of sacrifice from hockey players who are in their teens? Birender is just 17 years and 10 month old, and is youngest of the five siblings of late Ignace Lakra. Put your condolence message, we will ensure Birendra gets them all -- to show we are with him in this hour of grief.

In the first of three games of the series between India and Argentina - which is preparing to compete in the Copa America in Bermuda -- was unable to overcome India. The first match produced no goals, and it is credit for India, which is ranked more than ten ranks above the visitors. Despite the low risk generated by the two teams, each could obtain four short corners, but none could be converted.

These matches are part of the preparation of Argentina for the Copa America which will be played in Bermuda from 6 to February 15. Indian team is led by Surinder Kaur, coach is MK Kaushik.

Second Test: Wednesday, 28/01: Argentina vs India (18.00)
Third Test: Thursday, 29/01: Argentina vs India (18.00)

Mom is the word
by Sharad Deep (Hindustan Times)

Lucknow, January 23: ARJUNA AWARDEE Pritam Rani Sivach represents a special section of women's hockey in India. She is the youngest 'bahu' of a family of 14, wife and the mother of two kids. But above all, she is an ace forward in the Indian women's hockey team. Juggling her diverse roles skillfully, Pritam Rani Sivach of Panipat does 'special things' from morning to evening and is happy that she is the perfect sportswoman who can play so many 'games' at one time. "It's a baseless concept that a married woman, having kids, can't play good hockey," Sivach told Hindustan Times. "If you look at the teams from European countries, you will find that most players are married and have kids."

For Sivach, all this is possible because of tremendous support from her in-laws, kids and most importantly, her husband, who understand Pritam's love for the game. "My mother-in-law Geena supported me to complete my NIS. My father-in-law Chaudhury Leelu Ram still takes care of my kids Yash (7) and Yashika (2) while I am away training kids in Sonipat on a routine basis," says the ex-captain. "My husband Kuldeep, who is also an ex-hockey player, gives me full support. He comes back from office and help me in finishing the household chores," she says.

While at home, Pritam is the typical housewife, cooking for the family, sweeping the house, taking care of the kids, besides other tasks. "Before I got married to Kuldeep, I made sure that he had no opposition to my playing hockey. He is very supporting to me even today," says the Arjuna Awardee, who travels almost three hours by train from Sonipat to New Delhi to do her duty at the Northern Railway office.

Players like Manjinder Kaur (one son), Mamta Dalal (two sons), Amandeep Kaur (one son), Sunam Deshwal (one son) and Sunita Dalal (a daughter), all have played for the country and are still doing good in the domestic circuit for the Northern Railway. "When players in other countries having kids can play good hockey, why can't we?" asked former assistant coach of the Indian women's hockey, Anurita Saini. "Kids or no kids. It doesn't make any difference. If somebody is good enough, she should be picked up," said Anurita, who also happens to be the Northern Railway coach.

Team:
Goalkeepers: Baljit Singh, Adrian D'Souza.
Fullbacks: Dilip Tirkey, Sandeep Singh, Raghu Nath.
Midfielders: Gurbaj Singh, VS Vinay, Vikram Pillay, Prabhod Tirkey, Ignace Tirkey.
Forwards: Deepak Thakur, Prabhjot Singh, Shivedra Singh, Rajpal Singh, Arjun Halappa, Tushar Khandekar, S.V. Sunil, Bharat Chhikara.
Stand-bye: Bharat Chetri, Ajitesh Roy, Sardar Singh, Sarwanjit Singh, Hari Prashad, Ravi Paul.
Officials: Harindra Singh (coach incharge), Ramandeep Singh (coach), Romeo James (coach), Mithai M.V. (trainer), Shrikant (physio) and Ashok Kumar (technical manager).

The Bryans said they were hoping to take their revenge in Saturday’s final after falling to Knowles/Bhupathi in the quarterfinals here last year. They said they were very familiar with the game of both players and were looking forward to getting some rest before the final after playing their quarterfinal and semifinal on consecutive days. The men’s doubles final will take place after the women’s singles final on Saturday evening.

Argentina beat India by 3 to 2 in the second match played on Wednesday January 28 at the Club San Fernando. On Thursday 29, the teams will again meet for the third test.

English Championship club Coventry City will not pursue their interest with Indian striker Sunil Chhetri, the club's manager Chris Coleman revealed on Thursday. Praising the East Bengal striker for his popularity in India, Coleman however said they cannot pursue their interest with Chhetri as he does not fit into their scheme of things.

"A lot was made of him coming over and I think he is going to go around a few clubs. He has had a few days with us but that is it," said Coleman. "I understand he has a big reputation in India and he is a very nice young man but we won't be following up our initial interest," he was quoted. It may be noted Chhetri was given a wide coverage in English media after he landed in Coventry for a weeklong trial.

After his first training session with the Sky Blues, he received a warm welcome by the Coventry players and the coaching staff. "I am really optimistic and I am looking forward to the week. I just want to give 100 per cent. (Bhaichung) Bhutia has been an inspiration both on and off the field," Chhetri had said then. "After him the flow of players has slowed down so hopefully more can start coming over to England. It would mean a lot to me and to players from India," he had said.

In fact, the national captain was also optimistic about Chhetri's chances. Having had a stint with Bury FC, Bhutia had said, "I hope things work out for Sunil. It would interest youngsters in looking beyond India and ultimately if they manage it, they can contribute immensely to the national team set up."

Indian men's hockey team will be looking to redeem themselves when they begin their journey in the inaugural four-nation Punjab Gold Cup with a match against world number seven New Zealand, on Saturday. In the mouth-watering second match of the day, Olympic champions Germany will take on the Netherlands at the floodlit Sector-42 hockey stadium.

India, who made a comeback to international hockey after a hiatus of almost a year with a series against Argentina earlier this month, have their task cut out in their first tournament since last year's Olympic debacle as Beijing Games champions Germany, European champions the Netherlands and the mighty Kiwis stand in their way. A rusty India, led by new captain Sandeep Singh and under coach-in-charge Harendra Singh, started their four-Test campaign in Argentina on a promising note, winning the first two matches but faltered in the later stages to see the series end in a 2-2 draw.

But Sandeep and his men has to be careful that they don't lower their guard in the four-nation event as the Germans, Dutch and Kiwis would look to punish the hosts at every given opportunity. However, crowd support is one thing that India would be looking to bank upon. Playing at home could provide the platform they need to get back to winning ways and skipper Sandeep seemed to be in no mood to squander such a wonderful opportunity.

"We want to win the Punjab Gold Cup and get into the winning groove," Sandeep said. The eight-time Olympic champions have also been bolstered by the return of forward Arjun Halappa and veteran Ignace Tirkey, both of whom were out of the Argentina-bound squad due to injuries. The 10-day tournament, being organised by the Punjab Sports Department under the supervision of the International Hockey Federation (FIH), will be inaugurated by Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal.

The inaugural ceremony of the event, to be attended by Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President Suresh Kalmadi and IOA Secretary General Randhir Singh, will witness a colourful performance by Bhangra dancers. To encourage youngsters to take up the national game and ensure good turnout during matches, the organisers have decided to pack the stadium with nearly 2,500 hockey players and school children from across the state at government's expense. "We are keen to promote hockey at the grassroots level. This tournament is also unique as it is being organised by the state government instead of the sports federation. The tournament will boost our national sport and create interest among youngsters," said Badal, who is also the chairman of the organising committee.

"The young hockey trainees from rural areas of Punjab will be brought here to witness top world stars in action during the tournament," he added. Meanwhile, the tournament will be telecast live on Doordarshan instead of ESPN as the organisers failed to raise enough sponsorship money (Rs 60 lakh) due to the recession, resulting in a last-minute change of broadcaster.

India's first ever double leg four nation competition, the Punjab Gold Cup, is all set to commence at the traditional hockey bastion, Chandigarh, on Saturday. Chandigarh has the unique distinction of hosting the first ever four nation in Chandigarh, that was in 1995, Indo-Pan American Friendship Cup. India won the Gold that time, which was played in a hot summer and on simple round robin format. USA, Argentina, Canada were the participants, besides India.

The field this time is intense in terms of world rankings of the team in the fray. That Germany and Netherlands are in India is a good development, and the tournament is expected to dish out exciting fare. The matches have been planned for the evening, starting at evening 4.30 and 6.30. Col Balbir Singh, who has been made manager, now, was incidentally the manager of the First Four Nation that India hosted in Chandigarh. Will his team be able to repeat the past is a question we will be asking in the coming week.

Melbourne was the site of Yuki Bhambri's greatest achievement and biggest disappointment. Last year, in what was a heartbreaking loss to eventual Australian Open boys champion Bernard Tomic in the semifinals, Bhambri learnt some lessons: the importance of being able to run down each and every ball and moving in for the kill when the time is right.

This year Yuki arrived stronger and taller with a slightly reworked game, and has gone one step further: He's in the final. On Friday he beat Adrien Puget for the second time in as many days - on Thursday the boys met in a doubles match - 6-4, 6-4 in 79 minutes to set up a final clash with Germany's Alexandros-Ferdinandos Georgoudas, an opponent he's never played before. "I've been playing well and I definitely thought I could win here but now that I'm actually playing the final... it's like a dream come true. Today's match was tough. It wasn't easy and the heat and humidity didn't make things easier but I'm quite happy with the way I've been playing," an excited Yuki told TOI from Melbourne.

If Yuki wins on Saturday, he will be just the third Indian junior to win a junior Grand Slam with Ramesh Krishnan - French and Wimbledon junior champ in 1979 - and Leander Paes, who won Wimbledon junior crown in 1990 and the US Open title in 1991, for company. One of the high points of the just-begun 2009 for Yuki is being top-seeded here and apart from the initial nervousness, Yuki is enjoying playing with that tag. "It probably gives me extra motivation to do well in the tournament because I know I'm the favourite and probably one of the best right now in the world, so I'm actually enjoying it," said Yuki.

Except the first match which saw Yuki fumble a bit, the 16-year-old has been on song, closing out matches quickly. "I think those were just initial nerves. The first match is always the most crucial. As the match progresses I feel more and more comfortable and it's been the case here as well." Spending hours in the gym have started paying dividends for Yuki who feels he reaches the balls earlier and can prepare and move faster. One of the most visible changes apart from the height spurt is his tweaked service motion, a change suggested by the coach at the Nick Bolletieri Tennis Academy and one that now wins him many easy points. "I've cut down on my swing and follow through. Now I've more power and accuracy in the serve and thankfully I've been serving well," he explained.

Suraj wrote:Stan: Is this the most number of finalists we've ever had in a Grand Slam ?