Bharat Rakshak

Already the game's new powerbroker, India wants to host the nerve centre of cricket when Indian politician Sharad Pawar takes over the ICC presidency in July.

The proposal, to shift the ICC from Dubai to Mumbai, has already received stern opposition from former England Cricket board boss Lord MacLaurin, who said it would be a sad day for international cricket.

MacLaurin said the repercussions {WTF} from an ICC move to India would be serious and it could even affect major scheduling decisions such as holding the Ashes every two years.

The ICC board has already received another proposal to transfer the ICC headquarters back to its historical home at Lord's, {good luck with that} but there are tax problems {so money is the bottom line, eh} associated with a switch back to Britain.

Far more likely is a move to Mumbai and there appears no major stumbling block, even though a 7-3 majority of Test-playing countries would be required to rubber-stamp the move.

Australian cricket's financial success is becoming increasingly tied to India and only two countries{that is why Aussies are smarter they see the writing on the wall}, England and New Zealand, regularly oppose India in ICC board meetings.

A spokesman for Cricket Australia boss James Sutherland said he had not been briefed on the issue and could not comment.

2. Unsung Hero: Sylvanus Dung Dung : A prolific former field hockey player from India. He has been a Gold medalist in Moscow Olympics in 1980. He successfully coached the central Command team from Lucknow to the four sequential triumphs in the Army Hockey Championship. Sahara India Pariwar felicitated him with a monetary incentive of Rs 5 Lakhs for his outstanding contribution to Indian Hockey.

2009 IN PERSPECTIVE: Four proud Indian hockey players crossed thier 100th international caps

Review of the year gone by throw up some interesting insights
* India played 47 matches in 2009, 21 matches more than previous year.
* Only 4 players participated in 40 or more matches.
* The privileged foursome are: Gurbaj Singh (45), Tushar Khandker (43), Prabhjot and Rajpal Singh 40 caps each.
* 8 players had caps between 30 and 39, 7 players between 20 and 29. There are also 7 players who played less than 10 matches.
* Two stars did not play after the disastrous Asia Cup, Dilip Tirkey and Baljit Singh.
* India took part in 8 events in 2009 (considering all four Test Series during the Europe Tour as single), and only three players figured in all these.
* The privileged threesome are Adrian D’Souza, Gurbaj and Tushar to earn a decent continuity honour.
* Sandeep Singh, Prabhjot Singh, Rajpal Singh, Shivender Singh, Bharat Chikara, Vikram Pillay and Arjun Halappa missed a solitary engagement to miss out from this continuity list.
* On the obverse side, Bimal Lakra, Diwakarram, Dharamvir Singh, Ravipal Singh, Amir Md. Khan played just in a token event. This is surprising as some like Bimal and Diwakar are proven materials.
* In all, 33 players represented India which is marginally less than previous year’s number of 37.
* Lot of personal milestones have been made by players.
* Goalkeeper Baljit Singh just got his 50th cap but could not continue further due to eye injury he suffered during preparatory training before the Europe tour.
* Bharat Chikara crossed his 50th cap and at the end of 2009 his tally is 56.
* SV Sunil also crossed his 50th barrier before not considered for India cap after the Europe tour.
* The four exciting player of contemporary scene -- Rajpal Singh, Sandeep Singh, Shivender Singh and VS Vinaya -- made 2009 memorable with their personal century of international caps. A great achievement the media world missed out completely for want of ready made statistics of course.

Rahul M wrote:national hockey players have refused to practice today after HI head honcho AKMattoo has not relied to their letter regarding pay sent in late nov. a meeting is possible tomorrow.

Rahul M wrote: aided by ex-national hockey team players

capable administrators from BCCI aided by ex-national hockey team players

Noone can manufacture wonder in terms of our national sport unless the same jingoism that gets spread to the most popular pastime of India gets showered on it. For that, the national sport has to be packaged right and sold off free (for a few years) to the espn-dd sports-ten sports-etc cabal. School children need to be admitted for free in hockey matches. Grassroots hockey needs to be packaged, appreciated and well-fed.

The bitter payment dispute between India's national hockey players and the game's administrators was on Saturday night resolved after a marathon meeting, paving the way for the resumption of the World Cup preparatory camp in Pune which had been stalled because of the row.

Corporate house Sahara is sponsoring the national hockey teams through July 2011 in an annual contract worth Rs. 3.03 crores. {So if I parse it right, the contract will kick in July 2010?} The sponsorship contract signed by Sahara, Hockey India and Leisure Sports Marketing covers the Men's senior team, Women's senior team, Men's junior team and Women's junior team. What is not clear is whether a part of the Sahara sponsorship contract goes towards the national team players getting match fees, or monthly salaries, or performance-based incentives. Presently, Indian hockey players get nothing.

When the Indian team found out that the Pakistan Hockey Federation gives its players Rs. 50,000 per month, they approached Hockey India and asked for either a monthly salary or at least performance-based incentives. The players' letter to Hockey India stated, "In the previous three years we were paid Rs. 25,000 each for every overseas tournament before we left India. We would like to be paid this time too for having taken part in the Champions Challenge tournament. For future tournaments, please make arrangements to pay well in advance."

When Hockey India did not announce any cash rewards after the Indian team won the bronze medal in the Champions Challenge I, the Indian hockey players, training at a camp in Balewadi near Pune for the World Cup, stopped their training from January 8. Captain Rajpal Singh said, "We have decided to boycott the camp indefinitely till we are paid our money. We took such a decision in a meeting of players. Earlier we used to be paid after every tournament, but it is not the case now. We have reminded Hockey India officials of pending payments quite a few times, but nothing has been done. We will now report to the camp only after we are paid. Hockey India does not care for the players; it is very sad. The sponsors are paying the money, but the players don't get anything."

The Indian men's team played a total of 46 international matches in 2009, without getting match fees or monthly salary or performance incentives. In which profession, in which country, will a person work for free 46 days a year with no salary and no income? {thats 47 as posted in the previous report, BH has a mistake in that it counts the spain oiro series as a 2 match series, we played three matches there...}

Hockey is surviving in India only because of State Government run sports hostels in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Orissa, Punjab, Bihar and Kerala, as well as Army run sports units like Madras Engineering Group (MEG) and Army Service Corps (ASC) in Bangalore.

through July 2011 in an annual contract worth Rs. 3.03 crores.

Hockey India reacted sharply to players’ decision with treasurer Narinder Batra accusing them of blackmailing the Federation and holding the nation to ransom.

“It’s really shocking. They agreed to our offer yesterday and now they are back on strike. They can’t hold a nation to ransom,” he said.

Pakistan singer offers to sing for Indian hockey players

New Delhi, Jan 11 (PTI) Pakistani singer-actress Salma Agha today offered to perform in concerts across the country to raise money for the Indian hockey players who are boycotting the national camp in Pune to protest non-payment of their dues. "I was following the hockey players' boycott incident for some days. I have the plan to tour the country and perform in different cities to raise funds, which will be send to the players through Prime Minister's fund," Salma told PTI from Mumbai.

"The national players are like the country's ambassadors and their demand should be fulfilled to make them happy," said Salma who won the Filmfare Best Female Playback Award in 1982 for the ghazal "Dil ke Armaan" in the movie 'Nikaah'. However, Salma was yet to finalise the details of her fund-raising tour, but said she would like to do it "as soon as possible".

Pained by the hockey turmoil, an Indian doctor in London has offered Rs 10 lakh for the players who are staying away from World Cup preparatory camp in Pune in protest against non-payment of their dues and incentives.

Besides, Dr Leitao, who himself played hockey in London leagues, also promised to donate his Goa residence to the Indian players if they manage a podium finish in the World Cup.

"If they manage the feat, it would be upto the players, what they want to do with the property -- sell, rent or utilise the facility," Carvalho added.

AK Mattoo says that Hockey India has no money to pay to its players !!

Asit P wrote: What the hell are the officials doing other than hatching eggs on their seats?

IOA President Suresh Kalmadi announced in Pune that he will disburse the donation given by Sahara India (Rs. 1 Cr.), within a week, and veteran Dhanraj Pillay will be the man responsible to see this happening in the given time frame. He also announced forming of a Players' Welfare Development Fund. Another committee consisting of Zafar Iqbal, Ajit Pal Singh, MP Ganesh and Dhanraj Pillay will be formed which will receive all other donations that had also been announced, and this committee will manage the fund. Hockey India president and an IOA representative will also be member of this committee. It was assured to the players that their other grievances of gradational system will be settled before the World Cup and the gradation will be formalized by the players themselves. However, one has to wait and see how effectively the issues will be solved in the short and long term perspective, as none of the assurances have been backed in writing.

"Sahara has also paid Rs. 77 lakhs in December as advance for the quarter of January 15 to April 14, 2010. Sahara will go through the past accounts of Hockey India and shall take suitable decision for this amount," it added.

"Our unity was our main weapon in this fight. Every single player of the squad was behind each other and I am happy to say that we still are a united lot. I hope we will carry forward this unity on the field. World Cup is a battle and unity is necessary to win any battle. You will definitely witness this unity during the World Cup," he said. D'Souza said the IOA chief's word of mouth was big enough assurance for them to call off the five-day long strike and resume training from tomorrow.

"The IOA president coming to meet us and assuring in front of the entire nation that he will see that all our dues and incentives be cleared within a week was enough for us. He assured us that he will put our all other demands, including the gradation system, before the new Hockey India officials once they are elected on February 7. He also assured us that gradation system will be worked out before the World Cup," he added.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati has offered Rs. 5 crore to the Indian hockey team to enable it to participate in the World Cup. She said the State government was willing to sponsor the team for two years.

The coach was of the view that the strike episode had come as a blessing in disguise for the team as the morale of the players was high. “This new-found unity will do wonders in the World Cup. The morale of the players is very high, which is crucial for a big tournament like the World Cup. I have full confidence in them,” Brasa said.

Meanwhile, the team’s first training session at the Pune camp ended on a musical note with singer-actor Salma Agha performing for the players.

Baljit, however, thanked Gill for all his support till date but requested the minister to come forward and complete his treatment.

Baljit said that for the last three months he has been banging his head from one door to the other without result. “I constantly appealed to the sports minister to complete my treatment, but he bluntly refused saying there is no money with the Hockey India, the Indian Olympic Association and the sports ministry, too, could not afford any further,” he said. “Where were these people in the last three months when I was sitting at home hoping for treatment to be completed? My team raised their voice for me and when the matter came out in the media, the Hockey India told me that they will pay me Rs 2.5 lakh which I have spent from my own pocket for the treatment in the US,” he added.

Pushed to a corner ---- K. Arumugam in Hindustan Times on 15th Jan 2009

Hockey is an invisible sport. Consider this. The Indian players revolted recently. What they wanted was match fee or reward for playing 47 matches last year, which included winning medals, cups and Test series. If hockey is our national sport, how many of us could enjoy the dazzling skills that our players exhibited in those 47 matches? Not many. Because, 90 per cent of the matches were played outside India without ‘live’ telecast. The seven matches hosted in India were telecast deferred. For a sport fan, therefore, hockey did not exist. He did not see hockey or his sporting heroes on the turf. Usually, hockey is seen more on news channels than on sports channels or in newspapers thanks to its ability to stir up controversies with regularity.

When the sport is not visible, all the negative things are in the limelight. That is why hockey means KPS Gill or Suresh Kalmadi to many, known for their spoilsport sagas, or at best Jugraj Singh’s car accident. Sandeep Singh’s goals or Arjun Halappa’s body dodges hardly stay etched in one’s mind. Politics and negativity are there in every sport, including cricket, but the very sight of MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar scoring a century or a fifty overshadows it. Fans remember sixes and centuries, not just the Sharad Pawars and Jagmohan Dalmias.

The fallouts of the lack of visibility are many: no role models, no returns for corporate houses even if they want to pump in money and the worst — even die-hard fans turn to other sports. In this era of T-20s and T-10s, the sport does not have a single innovation to show. Still the age-old format of 35 minutes each half, 11 players on each side, continues. Six-a-side, indoor hockey and rink hockey are popular here and there, but not promoted as a universal package that is marketable to a wider audience.

Said hockey legend Richard Charlesworth, chief coach of Australia’s men’s team: “If hockey has to become a popular sport, there should be less number of players playing at a time. Complex rules should not be there, even the penalty corner is not required.” In its last executive committee meeting at Melbourne, the Federation Internationale de Hockey took a step in this direction. A committee is now exploring the question of finding exciting formats. A path-breaking announcement is likely to be made during next month’s World Cup in Delhi.

Said Abijit Sarkar, spokesman Sahara India, sponsors of both hockey and cricket: “If hockey has to be revived, the federation has to be transparent, players should win more tournaments, and the government should recognise those who support hockey. The Premier Hockey League came before the Indian Premier League. The cricket event went on to become a hit, but the PHL stopped abruptly due to federation politics,” said Sarkar.

So, what is the way out of the morass? Good administration, transparency, frequent tournaments hosted in the country wherever hockey is popular. “Victories and visibility go together. When India won the 2003 Asia Cup, we brought out full-page advertisements with Amitabh Bachchan in them,” added Sarkar. After six days of agitation and negotiations with Hockey India over delayed cash incentives, the team resumed practice on Thursday. During the agitation, it gained an outpouring of support from business houses, fans and people. On Wednesday, even Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati decided to loosen her purse strings and pitch in with a contribution of Rs five crore for the hockey team.

“Whatever happened last week proved that hockey connects with people. It is a big boost for the sport and the coming World Cup,” said Jamie Stewart, Managing Director, Commune Sports and Entertainment, event managers for the World Cup. A consistent television product is what hockey needs urgently, said Stewart. “Once the new administration assumes control of hockey in India, a fresh start can be made. The blueprint that Ric Charlesworth formulated could form a good starting point and the World Cup coming to India after 27 years, will place hockey back where it belongs— on the centrestage of India’s psyche,” he added.

The national sport deserves that.

According to his estimate, India probably hosts the maximum number of domestic tournaments in the world in a single season; but they don't serve any purpose. The game fails to cash in on them, in terms of nurturing talent or creating a buzz for hockey, quite the way the Dutch, the Germans and Malaysians do at the moment. "Look at the amount of hockey the Indians are playing - almost 365 days a year. But they are all memorial tournaments, district level events, inter-department matches. Who gains from them? In the top hockey nations, it's different. They focus purely on the national club championship which is big," points out Pillay.

For those who have had a taste of foreign leagues, to crave for something in a land which was once the cradle of hockey, is only natural. But for that to happen, as Pillay says, the answer lies in professionalising an archaic, rotting set-up . "First," says the plainspeaking former striker, "turn professional in your approach. Only then begin thinking of having a similar set-up in place." But as the recent shenanigans showed, it is only wishful thinking. Indian hockey is miles away from returning to its past glory.

With no Olympic
quota places on offer, the National Rifles Association of India has decided not to host the pistol and rifle World Cup
Shooting scheduled here in March next year.

"The 2010 ISSF World Cup in New Delhi has been cancelled. The Organising Committee of the New Delhi World Cup Stage withdrew its application in an official communication to the ISSF," the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) said in a statement.

"The Indian organisers explained the reason of their renouncement mentioning the decision of the IOC on the Olympic Quota Places distribution matter, stressing the fact that no Quota Places would be distributed at the New Delhi World Cup Stage," it added.

"The IOC restated that International Federations will only be able to distribute Olympic Quota Places starting from two years prior the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games.

"Therefore, no Quota Places will be assigned during ISSF World Cup Stages, next year. The first Quota Places will be awarded during the 50th ISSF World Championships in all events that will take place in Munich from July 29 through August 11, 2010," the statement read.

here is speculation that the event has been cancelled as the shooting ranges would not be ready in time but with the Commonwealth Championship going ahead as planned in February next year, quota places seem to the only reason for the organiser's decision not to host it.

India's first individual Olympic gold medallist and ace shooter Abhinav Bindra wants to quit the sports after being frustrated by the lackadaisical attitude of the shooting federation.

The 27-year-old shooter told an Indian daily that the ways of the National Rifle Association of India - the sports apex body in the country - and the apathy shown by others in positions of power convinced him there was little chance of future success.

Bindra has been training abroad for six months for the Commonwealth Games in Delhi and the Asian Games in China later this year.

The NRAI wants him to turn up for regular trials in India, irrespective of his international results.

Miffed with the NRAI attitude, Bindra said: "The present situation has been very upset for me and does not leave me with much motivation."


Bindra also said that he is miffed with the federation for dropping him from the squad for the upcoming Commonwealth Shooting Championships as they made it mandatory for the shooters to attend the trial.

Somdev Devvarman missed out on a chance of featuring in his second successive Grand Slam singles main draw after losing the third and final round of the Australian Open qualifying event in straight sets to 12th seed Blaz Kavcic.

The 27th seed tried his best to make a comeback into the match but eventually lost 3-6, 6-7(4) to his Slovenian opponent, ranked 126 in the ATP chart.

The national football team on Saturday got a new sponsor with electronics giant Panasonic signing a Rs 4.7 crore deal with AIFF, the national federation. The All India Football Federation president Praful Patel and Daizo Ito, CEO of Panasonic India signed the Memorandum of Understanding for the three-year deal at a function, while Bollywood actor Dia Mirza unveiled the national blue jersey that carries name of the company. "Initially the deal is for three-years, this is a welcome deal and the money will help us to build up infrastructure for the game in the country. Because only passion is not enough to bring the game to the next level. Money and supports also matter," Patel said after signing the deal. This wonderful deal is a good sign for Indian football, which is probably the second most popular game in the country after cricket. It will certainly help the cause of the game in India," Patel added.

"We have been a strong supporter and endorser of football in Thailand and are delighted to extend this association to the Indian federation. We are confident that this association will take football to the newer heights in India," Ito said. AIFF vice-president Subrata Dutta, AIFF secretary Alberto Colaco and managing director of Panasonic Asia Pacific Ikuo Miyamoto were also present on the occasion. Meanwhile, Patel, who is also Civil Aviation Minister in the UPA government, expressed "anguish" over the present state of Indian football and said the AIFF is thinking about giving more international exposures to its players.

"It anguishes me that the Indian football has declined in comparison to what it was 25 years back. India have not really lived upto the expectation and we now have a long way to go," Patel said. "I agree that we have not played much international matches in the recent time. There are also pressure of the domestic tournaments. But we have to give more international exposure and matches in the days to come to the national team to improve our standing in the FIFA ranking," Patel added.

Patel also said that a meeting will be held on February 19 in Kuala Lumpur, where Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president Mohammad Bin Hammam and AIFF would sit with the 14 I-League teams to discuss the issue of club licensing. "We will talk to the clubs in details and will tell them about what are the strict rules and regulations for licensing when we meet with them next month," Patel said.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has become totally commercial and all its activities are being carried on commercial lines. Cricket is only incidental to its scheme of things. It is more into prize money for every run or wicket, which is nothing short of a gimmick.'

No, this isn't an ungrammatical anti-BCCI tirade from a rival cricket organisation. It is, rather, what the income-tax department has to say about the BCCI in its assessment order dated December 30 last year while disallowing tax exemptions for the organisation. The exemptions were earlier being granted on the grounds that promoting cricket was a "charitable" activity.

The BCCI's net income for 2006-2007 was Rs 274.86 crore. The I-T assessment order means that the cricket body will have to pay Rs 120 crore as tax plus the yet-to-be-quantified penalty amount.

Prize money break-up: Sultan Azlan Shah Cup gold: Rs 1,00,000. Junior Asia Cup: Rs 75,000. Punjab Gold Cup silver: Rs 75,000. Champions Challenge bronze: Rs 50,000. Argentina series: Rs 50,000. Canada series: Rs 50,000. New Zealand series: Rs 50,000.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Atmaram held IWHF president Vidya Stokes and general secretary Amrit Bose responsible for India's uninspiring results at various international tournaments, even though the team members gave improved performances. Atmaram charged that the IWHF officials failed to provide facilities to the girls like proper accommodation, kit and food. ''Besides, the team has no physical trainer, doctor or psychologist,'' she added. Atmaram felt that no effort was made to attract proper sponsorship for the country to participate in international tournaments, thus depriving the side of requisite practise.

The IWHF senior vice-president alleged that the the federation had been, during the build up to the World Cup, stressing more on training camps and had ignored the holding of annual national tournaments, which is mandatory. ''Out of a total of 16 tournaments during the four years, only seven were organised.'' The 49th senior nationals, which were to begin from August one this year, were postponed keeping in mind the national camp schedule from June 21 to July 31. If the tempo of the game was to be maintained and the players were to perform better, nationals should never be postponed, she felt.

Atmaram's reaction comes three days after chief coach Balbir Singh resigned in disgust. He blamed the IWHF for not treating the players well. Asked whether she agreed with the charges made by Balbir, especially regarding IWHF officials not paying the girls their due pocket money, Atmaram refused to make any comment. She however, said that she was "sympathetic to Balbir.'' Dhamania for her part said that the IWHF president and general secretary were not involved with the game as they were never seen with the players when the team was playing during the World Cup. ''They, Stokes and Bose, were never around when the girls were playing," she charged. "They were instead busy attending meetings, when the girls could have benefitted from the morale booster of visible support from their officials."

Dhamania, who is a member of the Federation of International Hockey (FIH) was also present at the World Cup. She said the girls played very well, but lacked strategy, adding, "However, while other teams had the best of facilities, we were not even allowed to take a doctor along." Asked about Balbir, she said it was unfortunate that a coach was made to resign. "It is a sorry state of affairs where we do not have a physical trainer, psychologist or a doctor,'' the former Indian hockey player said. Referring to team selection, Atmaram pointed out that it was amazing that selection for international tournaments was made without regular nationals being held, with the result that hardly any fresh blood was inducted in the team.

She charged that the selection for international participation was mostly confined between the president, the general secretary and the coach. No other state president or state representative was asked to be present, and if anyone was ever asked to be with the players in the camp to observe their game, she was not asked to be present at the time of the selection and the team announcement. Atmaram charged that all important decisions were taken at the president-general secretary level, and that no executive member was consulted when deciding whether or not, for instance, to raise loans for participation at Harare.

Despite its being common knowledge that business houses were not coming forward to promote women's sports, and hockey in particular, no special effort was made to woo sponsors, the IWHF official, adding that if concerted efforts were made, corporate help would have been forthcoming. The lackadaisical attitude of the officials, Atmaram said, was effecting the game on all fronts. For instance, she pointed out, in the past, there were five women umpires from India on the FIH panel, now there were none. Madhu Yadav's name had been sent to the FIH in 1994 itself, but there was no follow up and she lost out, Atmaram said. This, she said, came as contrast to even small nations like Singapore, which had four, five officials on different FIH commitees.

About the merger of the IWHF with the Indian Hockey Federation by the turn of the century as directed by the FIH, Atmaram said that besides cursorily discussing the suggestion, nothing further had been done. "A merger will be good for both the federations, as we could combine our talents and resources and promote Indian hockey and make it world class," she said. The IWHF's four-year term has expired, and the election for the new managing committee is scheduled to be held in Shimla on August 17. Atmaram will contest the presidentship, against incumbent Vidya Stokes.

Indian Junior Women's Team Stranded Without Food & Shelter --- Article courtesy Saji Chacko of India Today

Ever heard of a team running out money and begging for meals and accommodation in an international tournament? That is what happened with the Indian women's u-21 team, which took part in the Australia Youth Olympic Festival that was held in Sydney from January 14 to 18. The Indian women's team had their boarding and lodging confirmed till January 18, the last day of the tournament. But their return flight was on 11 pm on January 19, and the 16-member team, along with manager Sandeep Somesh, did not have any cash either for their stay or meals. Hosts Australia had taken care of expenses for the tournament ending January 18.

What happened next is flabbergasting. The desperate team members had to beg the hotel authorities to allow them to stay for the day. The hotel authorities relented, but gave only one room for the 16 members. As regards food, after running from pillar to post, one of them approached the mess of a local university. After a lot of persuasion, they agreed to provide them with lunch. The mess belonged to the Macquarie University in Sydney. An incensed Somesh wrote a detailed report to the president of the Indian Women's Hockey Federation (IWHF), Vidya Stokes, and chief coach M. K. Kaushik, in which he pointed out the humiliation suffered by the Indian team. Somesh submitted the report on Feburary 10.

When contacted, Somesh said: "Beyond the fact that I submitted a report to IWHF, I am not in a position to reveal anything." When queried, an IWHF spokesperson said that this tournament was not in their calendar, and that they had nothing to do with the tour. If the IWHF had indeed nothing to do with this tour, how did the women's team get clearance to go to Australia without any approval? If the IWHF did not have a say in selecting the team, then how did the IWHF appoint a manager? And why should the IWHF even accept the tournament report from team manager Somesh?

This is not the first time that the callousness of the IWHF authorities has resulted in the suffering of hockey players. One sincerely hopes that such incidents do not recur in the future.

Enough Is Enough; Amrit Bose Should Quit as IWHF Secretary ---- By K. Arumugam of Stick2Hockey.com

Half a dozen former women's internationals met Sports Minister M. S. Gill and complained about the 'defunct and malfunctioning' Indian Women's Hockey Federation (IWHF). The players in the hour-long meeting with the Minister included Arjuna Puraskar winners Preetam Rani Siwach and Sandeep Kaur, 1982 Asiad gold medallists Anurita Saini and Devinder Bhatia, and 1998 Asian Games silver medallist Sunita Dalal.

The players' delegation highlighted 17 greivances with the IWHF to the Minister, some of which were:
* Failure to conduct the annual national hockey championship in 2008
* Failure to send selectors the previous nationals
* Failure to conduct elections, which are overdue by six months
* Unduly long term of office - the top officials are in the post for almost 25 years continuously

The IWHF is a one-woman show, run by its secretary Amrit Bose. The IWHF president, Vidya Stokes, is a mere figurehead in the IWHF; her main job is being the Opposition Leader in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly, and does not have time for women's hockey. Indian women's hockey functions at the whim and fancy of "I-am-always-right" Amrit Bose. She is casual, auocratic, arrogant, and thinks that the world moves on her finger tips. The IWHF is being run from the home of IWHF secretary Amrit Bose, since they had to vacate their office in the National Stadium due to renovation for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. If the IWHF cannot pay for an office, it has no moral right to call itself an organization.

Both the junior team coach (G. S. Bhangu) and the senior team coach (M. K. Kaushik), are puppets at the hands of Amrit Bose. Bhangu and Kaushik do not take any stand against the IWHF, because their primary objective is to protect their jobs. The last-minute cancellation of Indian junior girls team to Australia should not surprise anyone who is familar with the ad hoc nature of the IWHF. By Monday, October 13, an 18-member Indian junior girls team had assembled in Delhi for their flight to Australia the next day. Many of them were going to fly in an aeroplane for the first time. Just before their flight, they were curtly informed that their 9-match training tour was cancelled, and that they should pack their bags and go back home. The reason for the cancellation was pure misanagement by the IWHF, who had approached the Government at the eleventh hour for funding.

I. Srinivas, joint secretary in the Sports Ministry, said: "The IWHF is well aware about the procedure for financial assistance. It takes about 15 days to arrange funds for an overseas tour, but they didn't approach us in time.Sanctioning financial assistance within a day or two isn't possible. The government should not be taken for granted." In all this mishandling of the tour, the people who suffered most were the young players, denied vital exposure. According to one of the team officials, "The players were bitterly disappointed at this last-minute cancellation of the Australia tour."

Most players feel discriminated against by the officials who, they feel, are interested only in men’s hockey. “We understand that the men’s team has been consistently receiving their stipulated allowance. The officials are interested only in them because that’s where the media and government attention is, despite the women’s team consistently performing better,” another player said. While the players admit that the money isn’t really crucial to their basic needs — most of them are employed with the Indian Railways and get enough support even during tours — they feel that the issue needed to be addressed. While Hockey India vice-president Vidya Stokes did send out a congratulatory message for the team, she and other federation officials were unavailable for comment on the issue despite repeated attempts.

The men hockey players have got the incentives they deserved. The women, who supported them wholeheartedly during their strike, are likely to be left holding the sap's end. A day after Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi gave away the cheques to the men's team in Pune for their achievements last year, it has transpired that the women, who too enjoyed a superb run in 2009 - winning the Champions Challenge II tournament and claiming the silver in the Asia Cup - will not get any incentive for their good work in the near future.

Hockey India president Vidya Stokes made it clear on Tuesday that the women's team will not get any monetary rewards as of now owing to paucity of funds. "We know that our women's team has done well. We will be doing something for them at the earliest," Stokes told TOI. "But I cannot fix a timeframe as there is a paucity of funds. Also, I don't know how much of the Rs 1 crore which Sahara has given, was actually paid."

As such, another tragedy may play out in the coming days, with the women wondering whether they have to continue with the thankless job of performing for the country or consider the possibility of a strike. There were no ostensible signs of a boycott - with training at Bhopal in full swing - but the women's camp was home to restive players, with a few feeling that a strike was indeed the way forward and the others suggesting that they ought to give Hockey India another chance. But the point they all agreed on was that the federation may not have the money to pay them.

Apparently, the Rs 1 crore paid by the sponsors Sahara had been divided among those in the Pune camp and the development team in Lucknow. And, despite assurances by Hockey India on Monday that it will pay the women for their fine run, the team is convinced it will not get a penny. "Do we have always have to play second fiddle to men?" asked a player. "At present, we have no plans to go on a strike. But do we have to be pushed that far to get what we deserve? Why wasn't our performance considered when the men's team was given the incentives?" We won the Champions Challenge in Kazan, the silver at the Asia Cup in Bangkok. We also drew the 3-match test series against Argentina (one defeat, one victory and a draw) and defeated Chile in another series. We want incentives consistent with what the men got: Rs 1,00,000 for gold, Rs 75,000 for silver and Rs 50,000 for bronze."

The player said that in the past they got little attention from the federation despite having clamoured for what was rightfully theirs. "We are constantly looked down upon despite our achievements. We come from poor families. The incentives will go a long way in helping us financially. Will someone hear us out?" the player asked. In November last year, the players had protested against HI for failing to pay their daily allowance during the Asia Cup in Bangkok.

Vancouver 2010 will be India's eighth Olympic Winter Games, having appeard in 1964-1968, 1988-1992, and 1998-2006.

India has yet to win an Olympic Winter Games medal and is not expected to win a medal during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

SwamyG wrote:Stan: Here is India's outlook for Vancouver Olympics