Stan, the medals tally is nothing to write home aboutStan_Savljevic wrote:I am waiting for the new sportstar edition cos I have nt seen anyone but Chindu cover the Asian athletics meet properly. I did nt even see a medal table in the online version of chindu...
not in 1973 !The team was led by Vijay and Anand Amritraj, who were brothers and rivals. “I was always better than Vijay growing up,” said Anand Amritraj, who was two years older. “Then in ’73, he had a breakout year, and I was left in the dust.” With India leading the Soviet Union after the doubles, 2-1, Anand Amritraj clinched a berth in the final with a rousing five-set win over Teimuraz Kakulia. “It was two brothers taking their country to the final, which had never happened, and this was for a billion people,” Vijay Amritraj said. “It was past the goose-bump feeling.”
it was less than 60 cr.Elsewhere, there is no news on Baljeet Singh's recovery or Sandeep Singh's "recovery." Or the Hickey India elections. Nothing heard about the Indian team's practice matches in Spain against club-teams nor do we know if they have landed in Salta, argentina for the Champions Challenge {we know something, see above}. But we do know this.India beat South Africa 3-1 in warm-up tie
V Raghunath twice sounded the board as the Indian hockey team beat South Africa 3-1 in a warm-up match prior to their campaign in the Champions Challenge Tournament on Thursday. The team coached by Jose Brasa took the lead in the 19th minute through Gurvinder Chandi and went into the breather with a 1-0 cushion. Chandi was set up by Roshan Minz who had snatched the ball from a South African defender. When play resumed, Raghunath sank a penalty corner to make it 2-0 in the 45th minute before the South Africans reduced the margin shortly after from their third corner. Raghunath was on target again in the 60th minute and his strike rounded off the tally for the Indians.
Guess soon the buzz will flow, till then we have to make do with what happened at the U-18 Asia cup, which was sadly not reported elsewhere, till NOW... Truly ddm suck at hockey, may be I will email Tushar Dutt and ask about Baljeet Singh.Pakistan hockey players flexed their musclesin a training session to overcome jetlag after finally landing in Salta before competing in the Champions Challenge-I Cup being played there from Dec 6 to 13.
http://stick2hockey.com/ViewArticle.asp ... leOID=4357I am aiming at the next Jr World Cup: Bansal (12/5/2009)
People would have hardly noticed a tournament, which was played in Myanmar, a few days back. We are talking about the Men's Under-18 Asia Cup. Yes the same U-18 team, which was in the lights for the sad reason of overage, stood fifth in the said tournament. Although India was the defending champions, it could not make the last four. To know the reason and the details from the tournament, S2h talked to the coach of this team, Ajay Kumar Bansal.
Bansal holds a good record as far as defending the titles is concerned. But U-18 Asia Cup came as an exception. This team was new and young and just came out from the overage controversy. "I told S2H even before the tournament not to expect too much from this one as this team is a fresh one. The boys are playing together for the first time. Also, this was the first international tournament they were playing. So it was more of a learning experience for the youngsters" says Bansal. Another thing that might have worked against India, was the pooling. India shared its pool with the likes of Pakistan and Malaysia, the two teams which subsequently played the final.
"Yes it was a little tough on us, playing against two of the strongest sides of the tournament. But I take that very positively because we lost both the matches by just one goal, and it's good for the teenagers as well as they played the Asian giantsin the very begninig of their career" tells the confident coach. Well, India lost its first match to Malaysia 2-3. Amit Rohidas (from Orissa) converted a penalty corner while Gurjant Singh scored a field goal. In the next one, arch rival Pakistan beat India 4-3. Amit Rohidas converted the PCs twice in this match while the Haryana-boy Naveen Sangwan scored off a penalty corner rebound.
Bansal was filled with excitement while talking about the match against Pakistan. "Oh it was a great match. Though we lost it, but everyone enjoyed it thoroughly. It was like a typical India-Pak match, full of excitement and passion and everyone said that the two teams played as if it was the final" Bansal says with great passion. "Whenever and whereever India plays Pakistan in any game and at any level, the match is bound to be interesting. But the best thing about our match was that there was passion, but not the tension. It was played with very positive spirit" he adds.
India's first victory came against Sri Lanka. India won 6-0. Find of the tournament, Amit Rohidas, as Bansal describes him, scored a hat-trick. Naveen Sangwan, maybe the new penalty corner 'rebound-specialist' scored twice in the same fashion, while the skipper Manpreet Singh, one out of nine Punjabis in the team, scored the sixth goal. "I am really very impressed with Rohidas's game. He is young and superbly talented and I can see that this guy has a great future ahead. He has all the potential and zeal to make it to the highest level" reveals the coach, who had, once upon a time, coached the likes of Dilip Tirkey, Gagan Ajit Singh, Prabodh Tirkey and many more current and former internationals.
Rohidas's effort saw India in the match for the 5th position, that was played against the land of the lions, as 'Singapore' means in Tamil. Full-back Amit Rohidas was a star in this match too. Two penalty corner conversions from his, and goal each from the mid-fielder Devinder Valmiki and Talwinder Singh made it 4-1 at the final whistle. "Devinder Valmiki, captain Manpreet Singh and of course Amit Rohidas are a few of those guys whom I can term as the guys with real talent. Had we got enough time for the practice, outcome of this tournament would have been different" says Bansal.
Plenty of precious time was lost because of the overage issue and then the new trials and camp. "Even during the camp with the 'real U-18' guys, we had some issues. But for four-five guys, no one had a passport. So each boy took almost four-five days to get their passports made which also resulted in loss of time" explains Bansal. "And to add to it, were the conditions in the host country. Their practice and the main turf were not up to the mark as the ball was bouncing very awkwardly. But I would like to congratulate and thank Myanmar as they took an initiative and organized this tournament even though Myanmar is not a famous name in the hockey fraternity" Bansal said very cheerfully.
"Also, I feel it wasn't bad to lose time because of overage controversy. I am very glad that we had a purely U-18 team. Defeat in one tournament doesn't matter too much if we look at the larger picture" Bansal says with a vision. "I am aiming at the future. We have actual U-18 boys who can play for a long time for the country. My aim with this team is the next Junior World Cup and if we get proper practice, this team has in it to make it big in the future" Bansal says with confidence. "You see, a team that played an international tournament for the first time, played against the toughest opponents, and conditions which were made worse by the withdrawal of a few teams like Thailand, lost two matches by one goal and still stood 5th, should be given some respect and time."
"I have requested Hockey India to organize a few international tournaments in India and abroad. They are also taking keen interest in such developmental processes as to make our national game's future better, we need to concentrate upon the junior-most level" he concludes.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/spor ... 296972.cmsAce Squash players Saurav Ghosal and Ritwik Bhattacharya will spearhead the Indian challenge in the country's highest prized money
tournament - 'Punj Llyod PSA Masters 2009' - scheduled to be held from December 5 to 10 in Mumbai. While unseeded Indian and world ranked 34 Ghosal will lock horns with Australian Cameron Pilley (seeded 16), more experienced world's 76th Bhattacharya will take on seventh seeded England's Alister Walker.
The event will see participation of top 32 players in the world and will be played in an All Glass Court also referred to as 'The Thunderdome'. Egypt's world number three Karim Darwish has been seeded one, while Frenchman Gregory Gaultier and another Egyptian Amr Shabana have been accorded second and third seeding respectively. The week-long event will take place on the lawns of one of Mumbai's historic sporting institutions, the 134-year-old Bombay Gymkhana.
http://www.hindu.com/2009/12/05/stories ... 301900.htmRitwik has steadily gone down in rankings from 50-odd to where he is now, as Saurav has climbed from the same zone to 34. {That was before I found this note from elsewhere}
After his fine show in the $6,000 BC Open in Canada where he reached the final, Siddharth Suchde moved up 10 places to end the year at 99 in the latest PSA world squash rankings. Suchde’s jump enabled him to leapfrog Harinderpal Sandhu into the second position in the list of Indians on the PSA circuit. Saurav Ghosal, India’s No. 1, moved up one rung to 32. Sandhu, the winner at the Indian Challenger in Chennai recently, moved up one spot to 101 — his best ranking. Ritwik Bhattacharya moved down to 141.
Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal showed marginal movement while Anaka Alankamony, Aparajitha Balamurukan and Anwesha Reddy have moved up significantly, thanks to their performances in the Indian Challenger.
The PSA & WISPA December Rankings: Men: Saurav Ghosal 32; Siddharth Suchde 99; Harinderpal Sandhu 101; Ritwik Bhattacharya 148; Naresh Kumar 154; Gaurav Nandrajog 183; Ravi Dixit 222; Ramit Tandon 352; Abhishek Pradhan 359; Karan Malik 387; Aditya Jagtap 417; Mahesh Mangaonkar 417.
Women: Joshna Chinappa 33; Dipika Pallikal 46; Anaka Alankamony 101; Anwesha Reddy 111; Aparajitha Balamurukan 131; Surbhi Misra 152; Shria Khatri 198; Ankita Sharma 215.
Blind cricket falls victim to fund paucityIndia open today
Three-time champions India will start their campaign in the SAFF Cup in Dhaka when they take on Afghanistan on Saturday. With a side made up of under-23 players from the I-League clubs, India are the only side in the eight-nation competition to have come without their first team players. But coach Sukhwinder Singh believes they are capable of regaining the regional supremacy they had surrendered to the Maldives last year.
Coaches and experts will have to re-evaluate the Indian strengths and targets in the light of these championships if our athletes are to make any sort of mark in next year’s Commonwealth Games. Going to England or South Africa for training is not going to change the fortunes of Indian athletics, writes K. P. Mohan.
Should I be shocked? or surprised?Of the 57-member Indian squad at Guangzhou — there is no confirmation about numbers even after the championships — 40 athletes finished without a medal, eight of them coming fourth. There were just nine individual medal winners from among the Indians.
A bit too harsh?That just five athletes, Sunil Kumar (10,000m, sixth, 29:28.73), Om Narayan (javelin, fourth, 75.36m), H. M. Jyothi (100m), Kavita Raut (5000m) and Sudha Singh (3000m steeplechase) managed personal bests or season bests should tell the tale of India’s poor preparations and its standing in the continent, not to speak of the unachieved ‘peak’ of the athletes.
The lone gold came through shot putter Om Prakash Singh. He had just three valid attempts, one of 19.00, another just above 19 and a third one, his fifth that measured 19.87. As he pumped his fists and turned around to face the stands, the 22-year-old Haryana youngster knew he had clinched it. Surprisingly, the rest of the field was subdued. It contained Sultan Abdulmajeed Al-Hebshi of Saudi Arabia, who only this season had posted an Asian record of 21.13 metres. Al-Hebshi finished fifth (18.89) eventually. Chinese Taipei’s Chang Ming-Huang (19.34) and Chinese Zhang Jun (19.15) took the minor medals.
In terms of performance, Om Prakash’s was a splendid effort in an event that had been monopolised by Indians since the beginning. Last time, Navpreet Singh (19.70) had won the title. This was Om Prakash’s third best result ever, behind his 20.02m at the Chennai Inter-State and the 19.89m in Istanbul in June this year. After having been an 18-metre-plus performer, Om Prakash has broken through big this year with eight marks over 19 metres.
“I was under pressure since I was competing for the first time in the senior Asian with others who have had the experience at this level,” said Om Prakash, an ONGC employee who hails from Gurgaon. “I knew all that was required was one big throw and I was confident of getting that,” said the 6-foot 4-inch Haryana man.
Another Indian who came up with a creditable performance was intermediate hurdler Joseph Abraham, who won the silver. The 28-year-old Railwayman was smoothly over the hurdles and even challenged Japanese Kenji Narisako, Doha Asian Games champion, before the final hurdle despite being drawn in Lane Eight. Abraham clocked 49.96, his eighth best career timing.
India’s other silver medals came through woman distance runner Kavita Raut, woman steeplechaser Sudha Singh and the women’s 4x400m relay team. Kavita’s silver in the 10,000 metres, after taking the bronze in the 5000 metres (PB 16:05.90) was a remarkable effort. In terms of season best and standings, the Maharashtra woman stood little chance in a field headed by World championships marathon winner, Bai Xue of China. The second Chinese, Wang Jiali and Japanese Mari Ozaki were rated well above the Indian while the 5000m silver medallist, Tejitu Daba Chalchissa, a former Ethiopian in Bahraini colours, was a relatively unknown talent on track though she has had success in cross-country events. As it turned out, the Chinese and the Japanese played a waiting game, slowing down the pace that eventually suited Kavita. As she saw Bai Xue taking off with about 650 metres to go, Kavita also speeded up and ensured that the silver didn’t slip away. On a cold day, the others surprisingly could not keep pace with the front-runners.
Sudha Singh’s silver in the steeplechase came in a National record 10:10.77. Women’s steeplechase is yet to get stabilised at the National and Asian levels. In a field of seven runners, the fight for the silver had to be between Sudha and Chinese Fang Xiaoyu with Japanese Yoshika Tatsumi well above the rest. Sudha kept herself in second position throughout. The Chinese was eventually overtaken with more than 1000 metres to go by India’s Kiran Tiwari for the bronze. To put things in perspective, 93 women including Tatsumi cracked 10 minutes for the steeplechase in the world lists this season. Another 33 bettered 10:10.
The fall from the ‘pedestal’ in women’s 4x400m relay was most galling for the Indian team. The season had not gone exactly according to expectations, though the coaches had talked about at least four runners clocking below 53 seconds with at least two being sub-52 by the time the Guangzhou meet came around. In the event, it required a lion-hearted effort from Manjeet Kaur to keep Japan away from the silver medal, China having ensured the gold well before the last leg started{usual batting for the chinis of the hindu stable, dont let that bother you}. The Indian team of Mandeep Kaur, Sini Jose, Chitra Soman and Manjeet clocked 3:31.62 {may be that is 3:32.62 or 34 as it usually is, cos Indian record is around 3:34.xy} behind China’s 3:31.08. Japan, with 400m individual winner Asami Tanno running a great anchor, timed 3:31.95 for the bronze.
Interestingly, some of the selectors were unaware how Chitra Soman, who finished eighth and last in the 400 metres in the Inter-State in Chennai was included in the relay team and even if she was, how she was taken in the eventual quartet. Many felt that despite her disappointment in the women’s 800 metres earlier, it would have been sensible to pick Tintu Luka to run the relay even though she was, surprisingly, not even given the sixth slot in the relay squad.
PS: I am amazed at the way in which ddm has blacked out this event. I see just one ToI warm-up report and none from elsewhere. In fact, ToI had reports on the paki team, but none about us. Even s2h gives me a blank, wtf is going on. Is it too hard to get news about the Indian hockey team, how do the paki rags get news about their team? Should the blame be on IHF and HI and a lack of clear responsibility due to internal politicking? If so, an ack thoo on these oiseaules that are after their cv rather than on serving the damn national game.India came to Salta with 22 players and are conducting here a mini-selection camp before announcing their final squad.
. Here is one of the 1008 curses for the santiago episode, sobs. And Els van breda-whats her name has her 1008 still left in tact. You can add one more to either one if India wins the CC, that will get the anglais goats, oh thats the pakis favorite pastime, no? PS: I am amused at the complete black-out, no ddm is reporting any match of the Ind team. I am gonna do my own weather-balloon experiment, trying to see which ddm first reports this newsThe next game was also a hotly contested affair, New Zealand were immediately on the attack under the impulsion of a very active Ryan ARCHIBALD. However the Indian defense was vigilant and never let the Kiwis really threaten Adrian D'SOUZA in goal. The game continued at a high pace, with neither team able to grasp control of play. Phillip BURROWS had a deflection from close range go inches wide and a hard shot crash on the post, but it is India who finally opened the scoring, by Tushar KHANDKER at the conclusion of a quick counter-attack that took the New Zealand defense off guard.
The Black Sticks besieged the Indian goal in the final minutes of the period but were kept at bay by an Indian defense solidly organized around Sardar SINGH, and half time was reached with the one-goal advantage for India. New Zealand started the second period on the same attacking note, but still could not manage to shake the Indian defense.
It finally took a penalty-stroke in the 47th minute by Dean COUZINS, totally wrong-footing the goal-keeper, for New Zealand to come back on the scoreboard. They had little time to rejoice, as Shivendra SINGH nearly scored on the next attack. His deflection from close range hit the post, but he had a similar opportunity shortly after and this time made no mistake to beat Kyle PONTIFEX in the New Zealand goal.
New Zealand were not down yet and tied once again the game, this time by Andrew HAYWARD on penalty-corner. The final minutes of the game were intense, providing good entertainment for the crowd, but no more goals were scored and the teams remained tied.
. 
. Same time as the official weather-balloon expt. Others yet to pick up the news from anywhere 
.. India had 2 field goals and 2 PC conversions, wow thats nice to hear. The goals were Prabhjot Singh (7th min, pc), Rajpal Singh (35th min), Sarwanjit Singh (56th min, pc), and Shivendra Singh (would you believe it, 70th min); ages after I see all Singhs singing and dancingIndia bt China 4-1 after leading 2-0 at half-time
, even if only against the lowly chinis for whom I have zero respect, only Gurbaj Singh and Sardara Singh missed out, hope GS gets one of em in the next game, SS had one in the previous game . Raghunath and first-choice GK Adrian D Souza did nt get to play while Sreejesh made his debut today. The chinis pulled one back in the 41st min via a stroke, damn second game with a stroke. http://www.goal.com/en-india/news/2773/ ... a-to-breakOn the hour mark, things got worse for India as Blawant Singh{sic} was given his marching orders. He got a second yellow card for diving but the replays suggested it was a poor decision by the referee as Balwant was clearly caught. He will now miss the Semi Final against Bangladesh. Sukhwinder made no change immediately as India went a man down. Jeje was doing a good job of holding the ball up but has no support to take the move further.
Indraneel Kolkata
9:46 PM 07-Dec-2009
Well done Arindam and keep going ! A lot depends on you if we are to win back the SAFF Cup. A short advise to Sukhi as well >>>Better start spot-kick practise for your lads alongside the regular practice sessions immediately now that we have reached the semis.Because,surely we are not going to win this cup with the strikers we have.So,the only way out is play for a 0-0 in the semis and final,isnt it??
. The semis are for saturday 2:05 PM arg time (which should be 12:05 ET). , I am clueless about stroke, are they being issued more often, are our folks conceding too many foot-faults, is our GK doing the launch-into-the-fwd-line routine, i dont know. Saw Adrian back in the fold and Sreejesh sat down. Diwakar Ram also did nt get to play today. Dhananjay Mahadik, the army guy, opened the account in the 19th min with a pc conversion. The bels scored twice in five minutes (24th and 25th). I have no fricking clue how the defence could relax to let two goals be scored in 2 mins, but anyway, these are our boys, and they have done far worse in times gone by. ) jumped into a scrum in the bel half and dumped the ball all the way past the sorry-looking belique gk... wow wow, cos this is the second match in a row when the goal is scored at the fag end of the match, which means guys are attacking even at the hooter time. Hail brasa for ensuring this change, wow wow, i never believed i will write wow wow so soon. The 22-men team was cut down to 18 before the CC began. The folks who missed the boat for CC are Mandeep Antil, Deepak Thakur (!), Vikas Sharma and Ajitesh Roy. This is the cream of the crop that will take part in CWG, WCH, CT and so on. This is the meat, the bells and whistles are gonna be on the side. 11 of 18 are less than 24, 15 of 18 are less than 26, this is THE future of Indian hockey. I see noone past 30, folks such as Viren Rasquinha, Dileep Tirkey, are all looong gone. 7 of 18 are from Punjab, hippee, finally, after a long loooooooooong time I am seeing this old trend.Name Age Caps
1 Adrian D'SOUZA (GK) 25 130
3 Vokkaliga R. RAGHUNATH 21 78
5 Arjun HALAPPA 28 180
7 Prabhjot SINGH 29 207
8 Sardara SINGH 23 80
9 Gurwinder Singh CHANDI 20 41
11 Sarwanjit SINGH 21 40
13 Gurbaj SINGH 21 86
14 Tushar KHANDKER 24 154
15 Rajpal SINGH [C] 26 115
16 Sreejesh PARATTU R. (GK) 21 20
17 Roshan MINZ 22 30
18 Shivendra SINGH 26 95
22 BHARAT 24 55
25 Dhananjay MAHADIK 25 20
27 Vikram PILLAY 28 177
29 Danish MUJTABA 20 5
32 Diwakar RAM 19 14
I dont expect Baljeet Singh to fill up anytime soon, but Bharat Chettri seemed promising before Sreejesh became a regular. A couple of folks from Coorg+ and a couple from Bombay in the team. I am not sure if there had been anyone famous from AP in the team before, but we have Sreejesh now. The rest are from UP and all over the place, essentially. Sandeep Singh will be back sooner than you think. I cant believe Diwakar Ram is still 19, he has been around for like 3 years now, I thought he was scraping around 21 cos the jr coach Bansal saab did nt want to see his face anymore and blood new talent. Somuchso, we are the second youngest team in CC at Salta, wow wow wow.The seven players -- Ignace Tirkey, Prabodh Tirkey, Ravipal, Hariprasad, Bharat Chettri, VS Vinay and Bimal Lakra -- have cited " family concerns" as the reason for not attending the coaching camp before selection for Salta CC. But there is more to it than meets the eye.
Stanji,Stan_Savljevic wrote:I am not sure if there had been anyone famous from AP in the team before, but we have Sreejesh now.
Was he from AP? I had no clue, thanks. Any idea if he is in the news? Dhanraj comes out in the news once a while, he wants to coach the team, but with his conditions. Good luck with thatravi_ku wrote: You forgot the then right hand of Dhanraj Pillai, Mukesh Kumar.
. I have zero trust of the netas who run these sports administrations, most of them are looking for cv-level credentials than running the game with a love for it. AITA's RK Khanna may be an exception, but otherwise, I have more doubts than otherwise. 
put paid to a lot of these people, how many remember names such as Pargat Singh, Mohamed Riaz, Lazarus Barla, Sameer Dad, Jude Felix, Rajeev Mishra, Mukesh Kumar, Baljeet Singh Saini, Baljeet Singh Dhillon, coach Rajinder Singh etc. Even Ramandeep Singh would have been forgotten except for had he not taken the coaching staff position. We lost one or 2 generations of great players in the administrative mire that the netas led to by not providing hockey players with exposure to proper furrin events. And everytime, we would lose in the last 2-3 minutes and I stopped watching hockey for a long time before getting mature enough to go back to the hickey field again. Sydney 2000 semi miss was more traumatic than 96 Calcutta, even 2003 final loss was nt that big a deal.The scoresheet is here:India boxer Suranjoy Singh dumped Nordine Oubaali 8-1 on Friday to win gold at President's Cup. Suranjoy has created history by becoming the first Indian to win gold at the elite tournament. His French counterpart had got a walkover in his semifinal bout. On Thursday, Asian champion Suranjoy continued his rampaging form to out-punch Mexico's Baulio Avila and storm into the final of the season-ending boxing tournament. Earlier, the Indian, who is competing for the Asia One team, beat his rival from the Americas Two team 10-4 in a lopsided bout.
Suranjoy shunned aggression for caution in the opening round and preferred to counter-attack against an aggressive Avila, who is a pan-American Games bronze medallist. The strategy worked well as the Indian took a slender 2-0 lead in the first three minutes. Last year, Vijender Singh managed Bronze for India.
loss of face is probably the reason. it's a serious blow to H&D !Stan_Savljevic wrote:Posted later in the prev post: Rahul, why are the bd and nepali coaches showing so much acrimony at the Injun wins? Is it the std fare of sour grapes or is the U23 playing an ultra-defensive game or is it the loss of face at losing to an U23 team that they expected to beat fairly easily? I see that bottles were thrown late in the bd game against the Injun players, this is sttooopid. The only response can be to win the final by a large margin. Lessseee...
. The stadia are empty and a bit so-so when the argentines played. But in any case, salta or argentina is no heaven for hickey, just that the game has some official support. A few times when we converted pc's, I saw some rolling sub, i thought this had been abandoned ages back, may be not. 
Jugraj had been around, we would be rocking on fgs and pcs, not like we suck completely with pcs, but sure dil maange more. the scores were level when curiosity overcame me last .India overcame a two-goal deficit to eke out a 3-2 victory over Argentina and finish with the bronze medal in the Champions Challenge hockey tournament in Salta, Argentina, on Sunday.
Their hopes of qualifying for the Champions Trophy dashed after the semi-final defeat to archrivals Pakistan, the Indians were down 0-2 inside the first 30 minutes before V Raghunath (35th minute), Gurbaz Singh (54th) and Dhananjay Mahadik (69th) scored to complete a superb victory.
New Zealand won the tournament and qualified for next year's elite Champions Trophy after beating Pakistan 4-2 in the final.
....
We were 6th ranked in this tournament. And we ended up winning the Bronze. Atleast something to cheer about.BijuShet wrote:From Rediff:
Champions Challenge: India beat Argentina to win bronze
That is not how you see it. If you see the pdf on Fihockey website on how they compute the rankings, you will see that it is a weighted average over four years. So OG, CWG, AG, CT, WC regional championships, bilateral events, etc., everything is given weightage.. And bilateral series count for peanuts. Most of the points is for WC, CT and OG. Bilateral series dont even add up to a single good championship point.Asit P wrote: We were 6th ranked in this tournament. And we ended up winning the Bronze. Atleast something to cheer about.
So our last OG medal winners are partying, Abhinav Bindra has started practicing finally. After a 16 month break. Vijender is the cynosure of party circuits and modeling ramp events. Noone has a clue about Sushil Kumar. At this stage, I would put my bet on Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, if he is still practicing that is, to get a medal in Londonistan.Despite all the drama, red tape means the team boarded the train on Tuesday evening for Sambalpur to compete in the inter-university championships without the shoes. In true Indian tradition, nobody is willing to own up for the mess. The officials are passing the buck with a lot more niftiness than the boys would have actually managed with the ball on the pitch.
I have seen it, thanks. But the question is - who has compelled us to under perform in major tournaments? We may have performed well in bilateral series but we did succumb when it mattered the most. So lets face this fact.Stan_Savljevic wrote:That is not how you see it. If you see the pdf on Fihockey website on how they compute the rankings, you will see that it is a weighted average over four years. So OG, CWG, AG, CT, WC regional championships, bilateral events, etc., everything is given weightage.. And bilateral series count for peanuts. Most of the points is for WC, CT and OG. Bilateral series dont even add up to a single good championship point.
Let me put it this way, "Be prepared to be more happy soon."Asit P wrote: I am also happy
It will be a slugfest: Sandeep SinghSuranjoy was clearly overwhelmed by the occasion and while speaking to the media stated that his next objective is to win Gold Medals at the Commonwealth Championships in March 2010, Commonwealth Games in October 2010 and the Asian Games in November 2010 as stepping stones in the run-up to the London Olympics 2012. His compatriot Nanao Singh was lurking in the background, clearly unhappy at his first round exit in this championships.
A similar scene was enacted way back in March 2008 at this very airport when the Indian Team had returned from the 2nd Olympic Qualifying Tournament at Bangkok. At that time Akhil Kumar was the hero who had returned with a Gold Medal and the title of the Best Boxer of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament and Vijender Singh who did not make the cut then was lurking in the background. Later on Vijender made amends and went on to win many laurels including the Bronze at the Beijing Olympics and also another Bronze at the World Championships at Milan in 2009. Similarly Nanao will have many more opportunities to prove his mettle in the future.
Suranjoy has been a revelation to Indian Boxing this year. Having been in the wilderness for nearly two years in 2007 & 2008, he made a tremendous comeback with a superlative performance at the Asian Championships 2009 at Zhuhai, China and winning the Gold Medal for India after a gap of 15 years (last Gold was by Rajkumar Sangwan in 1994 at the Asian Championships, Teheran). It was all the more sweet and special as he defeated a Chinese boxer who was being touted as a sure shot Gold Medalist and was being cheered vociferously by the local crowd. His performance at the World Championships 2009 at Milan was a heartbreak for Indian boxing aficionados as he lost on equal points 10:10 and on a judges countback score to Nyambayar Tsogtsat of Mongolia who then went on to win the Silver Medal at the same World Championships.
Hence, Suranjoy had a burning desire to make amends by defeating the Mongolian at this Championships. Unfortunately that was not to happen as the Mongolian boxer was disqualified for being overweight or else they would have probably met in this event. Suranjoy’s feat of first defeating the Beijing Olympics Bronze Medalist from Italy in the quarterfinals and then the Mexican boxer in the semifinals and finally Nordine Oubaali of France who was a World Championship Chicago 2007 Bronze Medalist in a most convincing manner made it possible for the Jury to select him as the Best Boxer of the President’s Cup 2009.
The good news for Indian boxing fans is that the style that Suranjoy adopts is now ideally suited for International Boxing. In the Ring, he is a bundle of sheer energy who literally hurtles himself at the opponent as a ball of fire and unleashes punches with stunning power and lightning speed to which his adversaries have no answer. It is sincerely hoped that he retains his unique technique and improves these important factors in the days to come.
Bhupathi hopes to end men’s doubles Slam droughtSquadron Leader Baldev Raj Gulati, the ousted secretary-general of the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF), may have had to resign last month under pressure from the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) over the issue of doping, but he is not giving up yet.
But Gulati, who has often been blamed for the rampant doping in the country, is hoping to be again among the new set of office-bearers that will take charge after the IOA conducts elections on December 27. "I am not contesting for the post of secretary-general but for one of the other positions," Gulati told DNA, adding that he hoped India would be able to participate in next year's Commonwealth Games.
"Once the final dope test results are out and the penalty is paid (by the IWF or the IOA), the lifters will get a go-ahead for the Commonwealth Games, for which they are currently attending a camp at the Army Sports Institute in Pune," he said. "The penalty has not been announced officially. However, if found guilty we stand to lose half-a-million dollars. But the Sports Authority of India (SAI) is to be blamed for this,"
Muniyappa named Asian Tour Rookie of the YearNew Delhi: India gained one spot from previous month to end the year at 134th in FIFA World Rankings released on Wednesday. India, which began the year at 142nd, now has 158 points. It lost five points from the previous month.
With the Under-23 team playing the SAFF Cup our title didn't give us any points, while our south Asian rivals gained points for wins and draws against other sides.
Caddie-turned-pro C Muniyappa was, on Monday, named the Asian Tour Rookie of the Year following his inspiration triumph in the Indian Open earlier this year.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/spor ... 333967.cmsInclusion of mixed doubles event in the London Olympics has come as fresh motivation for Sania Mirza to continue playing and the Indian tennis ace feels it would be best opportunity for India to win a medal. The International Olympic Committee had recently given its nod to the mixed doubles event for the 2012 Summer Games.
http://www.sportstaronnet.com/stories/2 ... 302800.htmOne of the high points of the trip to the Czech Republic, according to Humpy, was when Spassky appreciated her convincing win over Vlastimil Hort with black pieces. Spassky told Humpy’s father Koneru Ashok, who is also her coach, “She is playing well with deep positional understanding.”
Ashok is delighted that his champion daughter has come back strongly after the controversy with the AICF. “She suffered a lot during that turbulent phase and even stopped playing for two weeks. But after much persuasion, she decided to choose the best way to silence her critics — with her performance on the 64 squares,” he explained. After a break during the year-end, Humpy is confident of realising her goal: of crossing the barrier of Elo 2700 and also becoming the world champion.
http://www.sportstaronnet.com/stories/2 ... 002600.htmSaurav Ghosal began his campaign in style, defeating the Australian, Cameron Pilley, in four games. It was his biggest pro career win. But he lost to Shabana in the second round. Ritwik Bhattacharya, involved in the organisation of the event,
http://chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=5993The final agreement between FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and the President of the Bulgarian Chess Federation Stefan Sergiev was signed in Sofia, Bulgaria. The prize fund is two million Euros (we are told that it is to be transferred to FIDE on January 10th). Ilyumzhinov met with the President Georgi Parvanov of Bulgaria, who is guaranteeing the conditions of the match. FIDE press releases.
Schedule of the 2010 World Championship in Sofia
April 21, 2010 --- Opening
12 games
May 12, 2010 --- Closing
"We played well against Pakistan. But it was not our day. We missed a couple of chances and that proved costly," Rajpal said after returning home from Argentina on Thursday. "In the final, Pakistan was the better team against New Zealand, but they lost. So one loss does not mean that we have become a bad team suddenly. But we have learnt our lessons. We have to plan better before any match."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/spor ... 348004.cms"We have lot of positives to take from the tournament. We converted three of the four short corners against Pakistan and that was a good sign. Sardar Singh was adjudged the player of the tournament. It was a boost for the team. We will be focussing on the World Cup now. We have not played the top teams so often, so we have to study their game and get ready for the challenge. Pakistan are also drawn in our pool in the World Cup and we have to plan well against them."
Rajpal said overall the team has improved this year. "There is improvement in our game. When we played in the Asia Cup, we were fifth in Asia and in Champions Challenge where eight teams from around the world compete, we finished with a bronze. So we have moved ahead." Rajpal said that drag-flicking is one area where the team has done well in Champions Challenge. "Our drag flickers -- Dhananjay Mahadik, Diwakar Ram and Raghunath -- have played well in the tournament and it is a good sign for the team."
Indian forwards Prabhjot Singh and Surinder Kaur are in the world Hockey all star team announced today by the FIH. The WorldHockey All Star Teams 2009 were selected by visitors of the official website of the FIH www.worldhockey.org. Out of the hundreds of people voting, the FIH created the Men’s and Women’s All Star Team.
Baljit said his vision has recovered 55 per cent following treatment in United States and after another surgery he is hoping to be fit to play again by March end next year. “My eye is better than before and I now have 55 per cent vision. I am using contact lens which was fitted in Alabama. Presently, my progress is being monitored by a local doctor in Chandigarh. I go to him for routine check up to ensure there is no infection but further treatment and a surgery is required,” Baljit told PTI. “I am sure by March end I will make myself fit. I will do everything step by step and I am now trying to regain fitness. My target is the Commonwealth Games,” he said.
Double Olympian Nandy Singh hospitalizedFor the further treatment and the surgery, Baljit is hoping that the Indian government will foot the bill again. “I will have to request the Sports Minister M.S. Gill to extend his helping hand once again. I am trying to meet him and request him to send me back to the United States for further treatment and I am confident that my request will be considered,” he said.
Baichung Bhutia calls for hard workDouble Olympic gold medallist Commander Nandy Singh, 81, has been hospitalized after he suffered paralytic attack today. He is now admittted into the emergency ward of the city's Moolchand Hospital, a km from his residence. The retired navy officer lives in Defence colony, New Delhi.
Grahanandan Singh (his full name) played both 1948 and 1952 Olympics when Indian won their consequective fourth and fifth Olympic hockey gold. Nandy has been a much feared centre-forward of his times, and helped Services do well at the National Championships as well. After his playing career, Nandy took extraordinary interest in development of hockey. He is at present Secretary of the Nehru Hockey Tournament Society, which has been doing a yeoman service to Indian hockey by way of organizing various age group tournament on scheduled dates every year.
http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/report_ba ... rk_1325484After having some barren years, Indian football got a shot in the arm when they won Nehru Cup (2007, 2009), SAFF Cup (2009) and qualified for the Asia Cup. But still someone like Sunil Chetri whose work permit was rejected by UK on the pretext of India's low ranking in the FIFA list, should not be upset as Indian skipper Baichung Bhutia came out with a remedy.
Speaking about his mediocre performance this year, Anand said, "This year has been a mix. It was not a bad year but compared to 2007 and '08, my performance has clearly dropped off. There are lessons to be learnt from that and I will be working a lot harder for next year."
http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/report_my ... nd_1325482"Corus and World Championships in April are extremely important and I think it's time to really focus and win," he said.
Aameen to thatStan_Savljevic wrote:Let me put it this way, "Be prepared to be more happy soon."
I am not sure if folks would want to read about politics in the Hickey India elections, but some may feel brave enough to stand through the nauseating puke, so this is the link:Corporate house Sahara would continue to sponsor the national hockey team, through July 2011. The new contract, signed by Sahara, Hockey India and Leisure Sports Marketing, would cover the Men's senior team, Women's senior team, Men's junior team and Women's junior team. The total sponsorship amount now annually works out to be Rs. 3.03 crores. In addition to this, Sahara will also provide kits to all 4 levels of teams. Sources revealed that Hockey India president A. K. Mattoo visited Lucknow and met Sahara chairman Subrata Roy to help negotiate the deal.
Meanwhile, Steel Authority of India (SAIL) will be the Presenting Partner of next year's World Cup to be hosted in India. The event will now be referred to as the Hero Honda World Cup, presented by SAIL. An agreement on the above was signed by International Hockey Federation (FIH) president Leandro Negre and SAIL Director (Personnel) G. Ojha, in the presence of Union Minister for Steel Shri Virbhadra Singh and Union Minister of State Shri A. Sai Prathap at Udyog Bhavan. Among other dignitaries present on the occasion were Steel Secretary Shri Atul Chaturvedi, SAIL Chairman Shri S. K. Roongta, Hockey India President A. K. Mattoo and Olympians and former captains Zafar Iqbal, Ajitpal Singh and Jagbeer Singh.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Virbhadra Singh said that it was a great pride for India to be hosting the Hockey World Cup in 2010, and for SAIL to be the presenting partner of this great event which, he hoped, "will revive the game of hockey in India". Shri Sai Prathap reminisced about his student days when he played hockey, and thanked SAIL for extending support for popularising the game. Speaking on SAIL's five-decade-long association with promotion of sports, SAIL Chairman S. K. Roongta said, "SAIL has a significant legacy in hockey and actually owns and operates one of the country's premier playing and training facilities at its Rourkela Steel Plant. SAIL is also proud that Michael Kindo, one of the stars of the Indian team which won the 1975 World Cup, was on its rolls. Hockey is the National Sport of India, and as a patriotic and national company, we feel that partnership with this premier global event is a perfect articulation of our values, outlook and standards. We believe that like our company, our national sport of hockey reaches out to every Indian."
Involved in promotion of sports since the early 1950s, when its production units and steel townships were being constructed, SAIL has established six academies across the country which impart training in Hockey, Football, Athletics and Archery.
2) Oirope trip led to great opportunities while the final tally belied our performanceIndia still has a chance to qualify for the Champions Trophy but for that they will have to finish within the top three in February 28-March 13 slated World Cup here.