Many contenders for US Open titles
By Sanjay Manchanda
IF Wimbledon is glorious and genteel, the US Open veers recklessly between grit and glamour. Raucous, hectic, hot, with smells, noise, and garbage accosting everyone even on the Flushing Meadows courts, it’s totally unpleasant. The players dislike the outside courts the most, because the food smells are the strongest there.

New twist to established norms
By Ramu Sharma
MAHARAJ Kishen Kaushik, coach of the Indian hockey team which won the gold medal in the Bangkok Asian Games in December, is justifiably annoyed with the Indian Hockey Federation. He thought he should have been recommended for the Dronacharya Award for excellence in coaching. Instead, his name has been forwarded to the Ministry as an Arjuna Award case.

Bhutia has come a long way
By Amardeep Bhattal

FROM the maidan of Calcutta to the congenial environs of premier English second division soccer club Bury FC, Indian football ace Baichung Bhutia has indeed come a long way.His debut in the English league is slated for mid-September provided there is no hitch in obtaining his work permit.The three-year deal with Bury FC which came after several unsuccessful attempts to make it to first division outfits like Fulham and Aston Villa, thus effectively rules out the top striker from the domestic scene at least for this period.However,the very fact that an Indian has made it to the English league gives cause for cheer to Indian football buffs who since long had been eager to see their hero rubbing shoulders with world class players in the home of football.Nevertheless it would be too immature to draw comparisons between him and the likes of Michael Owen, whose weekly earnings (£10,000) are much more than what Bhutia earned in one full season back home.

Baichung Bhutia’s rise has been phenomenal. Hailing from a remote village in Sikkim,Bhutia developed interest in the game as a schoolboy and at the tender age of 13 he was a hero leading his school team to memorable triumphs in Gangtok. At the age of 15,he dropped out of school to pursue his sole aim — that of making a mark for himself as a footballer. It was during a training camp organised by the State Bank of India that a local pro spotted his talent and changed his destiny. Having been impressed by the streak of brilliance which Bhutia displayed on the field, he persuaded officials of Calcutta’s top outfit, East Bengal, to give him a chance to prove his worth. The Governor’s Gold Cup at Gangtok in 1992 proved to be the turning point and East Bengal deputed former international Bhaskar Ganguly to bring Bhutia into their fold.

Initially things were not very encouraging as Bhutia, then essentially a midfielder, did not fit into the club’s scheme and was mostly confined to the sidelines as a substitute. But whenever he did get an opportunity, he displayed his lethal striking power at crucial junctures. It did not take long for him to convince his bosses about his abilities inside the box and he was soon inducted as a striker to bolster the attack.

In 1993, Bhutia came up with a breathtaking performance in the prestigious Durand Cup at Delhi’s Ambedkar Stadium.With East Bengal and Border Security Force locked goalless in the semifinals, it was left to Bhutia to deliver the coup de grace which he did with an audacious attempt with only two minutes remaining for the end of extra time.Two years later, Bhutia made his maiden appearance in the national championship for the Santosh Trophy and he made his debut truly memorable by shocking a sturdy Punjab in the final with another stupendous effort.

The enormous pressure while playing in the eastern metropolis started telling on him and he decided to go in for a change. Accordingly he joined JCT Phagwara along with a host of other stars in 1996. This was another successful season for him as he was instrumental in leading JCT to their maiden title in the high-profile Philips National Football League.In fact despite a late start, Bhutia emerged as the highest scorer in the league with 14 goals. Playing alongside stars like IM Vijayan, Joe Paul Ancheri and Carlton Chapman Bhutia mesmerised the crowds at the Cooperage, Phagwara and elsewhere. In one league tie against Mahindra and Mahindra, he was at his devastating best, pumping in three goals in his team’s ultimate 6-0 triumph at Phagwara.Expert tips from JCT coach Sukhwinder Singh, and former internationals Parminder Singh and Inder Singh proved beneficial in polishing his game.

However, the following year he once again decided to revert to the red and gold brigade where he had found his moorings.

Like any other player, Bhutia also passed through periods of tribulations. On August 2, 1997, he was involved in an unsavoury incident of manhandling referee Udayan Halder in a super league match against arch rivals Mohun Bagan at Calcutta. The Indian Football Association was quick to hit back and suspended him along with two other team-mates — Ilyas Pasha and Dulal Biswas — and a fine of Rs 25,000 was imposed on him.Earlier he earned a red card for back-chatting to the referee in Delhi just as he was about to be replaced in the Punjab National Bank Centenary Tournament .

Bhutia’s contract with Bury FC is surely a major breakthrough for Indian football although its importance is not being fully understood now.And the man who has been partly responsible for putting him in the English league is Mr Raj Prohit, an NRI who is also his agent. Ever since the chance meeting between the two at the behest of a leading business man, Mr Prohit was keen to see Bhutia play on English soil.It is really unfortunate that stars like IM Vijayan, Carlton Chapman and Joe Paul Ancheri did not take the plunge at the height of their careers like Bhutia. However, youngsters aspiring to excel in the international arena can now look to the future with hope with Baichung having paved the way to stardom in the home of football.

Baichung is scheduled to leave for England in the first week of September after he receives the coveted Arjuna Award from the President, Mr K.R. Narayanan.

Many contenders for US Open titles
By Sanjay Manchanda

IF Wimbledon is glorious and genteel, the US Open veers recklessly between grit and glamour.

Raucous, hectic, hot, with smells, noise, and garbage accosting everyone even on the Flushing Meadows courts, it’s totally unpleasant. The players dislike the outside courts the most, because the food smells are the strongest there. Food and garbage have had their place in the history of the Open; fans sometimes lob beer cans or cigarette butts on to a game in progress, and in the early eighties, play was suspended many a time when a garbage bin caught fire and belched smoke.

Then, on centre court, the place transforms and becomes big-shouldered, powerful and in spite of the size of the stadium, the crowd looms close, almost intimate, and carries its energy to the players.

The fans at the US Open are the most demanding in the world, but it’s give-and-take. The players establish a relationship with them. The spectators may put up with whiners, but they recognise effort and reward those in the middle much faster than anywhere else.

This succinctly, will be the scene at the Flushing Meadows of New York for the whole fortnight beginning from August 30. But with these little tit-bits, one will, of course, witness some fierce, breath-taking tennis on the courts as each and every contestant may at least crave to leave a mark, if not bid for the title, at the year’s last grand slam championships.

Foremost among the men’s favourites would be none other than the two in form players — Pete Sampras and Patrick Rafter. Only a couple of weeks ago, Sampras beat Rafter in the ATP championships final and the American would surely be running hot for the US Open crown.

However, both players are struggling with injuries in the run up to the year’s last grand slam championships. Just about a week ago, world No. 1 Sampras took treatment for a sore right arm while two-time defending US Open champion Rafter withdrew from the RCA Tennis Championships with a shoulder injury. The US Open will be robbed of its main charm if either of the two favourites were to withdraw before the start of the championships or midway through the tournament.

The lucky star then, of course, will be the effervescent American Andre Agassi, who has lately been showing tremendous form in winning the French Open title and making it to the finals of Wimbledon. The all-time crowd favourite would like to use US Open as an ideal launching pad to vault him once again in the top five bracket.

Yevgeny Kafelnikov, who is eyeing to be world No. 1 this year, should count himself among the front-runners for the title. Similarly, Richard Krajicek and Americans Michael Chang and Todd Martin, must also be training their sights on the crown.

Others expected to make a mark include Thomas Enqvist, Tim Henman, Goran Ivanisevic, Mark Phillipoussis and Petr Korda.

In the men’s doubles, the world No. 1 pair of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi would be keen to make it a hat-trick of grand slam wins after their French Open and Wimbledon titles. If the Indian duo goes on to win at Flushing Meadows, they will prove themselves as a crack doubles combination on three different surfaces-clay, grass and hard courts.

The women’ts tennis at the US Open will not be the same in the absence of Steffi Graf. The German superstar will be missed by the game for a long, long time and it will be difficult for the new breed of girls coming up on the horizons to fill the void, though Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, Venus Williams and Monica Seles may still try to infuse some extra interest by exhibiting high voltage tennis to make up for Graf’s absence.

New twist to established norms
By Ramu Sharma

MAHARAJ Kishen Kaushik, coach of the Indian hockey team which won the gold medal in the Bangkok Asian Games in December, is justifiably annoyed with the Indian Hockey Federation. He thought he should have been recommended for the Dronacharya Award for excellence in coaching. Instead, his name has been forwarded to the Ministry as an Arjuna Award case.

Maybe Kaushik was a bit optimistic about the nomination for the Dronacharya Award particularly after his spat with the IHF after the Bangkok Asian Games. The IHF may have its reasons for not recommending him for the award more suited to him but the federation has cracked a big joke by nominating him for the Arjuna Award, an award meant for proficiency as a player.

Arguably it is the federation’s prerogative to forward names for various awards but in the case of Kaushik, the IHF has not been very reasonable. Bypass him for the Dronacharya award by all means but do not insult the man by nominating him for an award for which he was eligible after the Indian victory in the Moscow Olympics in 1980. It is a bit too late in the day for Kaushik to be considered for the Arjuna Award but it is the right time for him to be nominated for the Dronacharya Award. Since he last represented India in the Olympics in Moscow, Kaushik has converted to a coach with special emphasis on women’s hockey before he was called in to fill in the berth vacated by Bhaskaran in men’s hockey.

The IHF may not like him but cannot deny his contribution to women’s hockey. In fact, it would not be wrong to attribute much of the credit for the women’s team showing in Bangkok to Kaushik. He is the man who gave the direction to women’s hockey and deserves credit for the progress shown by the ladies. And the IHF cannot also take away the credit from Kaushik for the gold-medal winning performance of the men’s hockey team.

It is not the Kaushik case alone that has focussed the limelight on the IHF. It is the federation’s policy on nomination of players for Arjuna Award that has come under scrutiny. Kaushik’s case was picked up because of the obvious bias involved in it. But what explanation has the IHF got for nominating the late Surjit Singh, a former India captain and a top-class full-back who died in an accident some 15 years ago or Baldev Singh who has given up the game for well over a decade. No one is questioning the IHF nominations of current players.

The nomination of Surjit Singh for an Arjuna Award borders on the ridiculous. This is for the first time that a federation has recommended the name of a player who no longer lives. There is no recorded history of any player being awarded the Arjuna Award posthumously. And why Surjit Singh? Is the IHF sending out a message or sorts or is it trying to introduce something new? And if the late Surjit Singh’s name can be proposed for an award is it possible that in the coming years, the IHF may try to spring a surprise and nominate the famous Dhyan Chand or his brother Roop Singh or K.D. Singh (Babu) and other superstars of yesteryears who are no longer with us?

The nomination of Kaushik, Baldev Singh and the late Surjit Singh for Arjuna Awards raises some pertinent questions. And it also opens up a pandora’s box. Is the IHF trying to make amends for earlier mistakes, or mistakes by people holding office in earlier days? And does the new trend mean that more and more old timers, overlooked during their days, be nominated as part of the IHF’s new policy. K.P.S. Gill and the ruling clique should come forward and spell it out if there is indeed going to be a new system to be followed by the federation.

It is time the Indian Olympic Association steps in to formulate rules and regulations governing the nominations of names for Arjuna Awards and other national honours. The present conditions laid down by the Ministry is obviously outdated and full of holes. Hence the blatant misuse of their authority by some of the federations.

The awards are meant as an appreciation of the achievements and contributions of the players to the national squad. They are something to be cherished. But the manner in which some of the federations have gone about distributing these honours the awards have virtually become meaningless. Not all the deserving candidates are given their due. On the contrary, often it is a case of asking for an award, fighting for it in fact on occasions, and then forcing the Ministry to accede to the demands.

The Athletics Federation has given up recommending names for the awards, contending that the Ministry does not always honour its nominees. The federation has given a free hand to the athletes to apply for the awards directly and leave everything to the whims and fancies of the officials in the Ministry. Other federations may follow suit if a more rational formula is not adopted in the distribution of Arjuna and other awards.

The nomination of awards has, it has been seen, often become a sore point between the federation and a sportsperson with the federation having the power, in some cases, to manipulate its authority. There has to be some method by which a deserving candidate is ensured of the award with the federation being only nominally involved. These awards are not something to be distributed to friends. They must be earned and deserved.

Coming back to the hockey nominations, it is rather strange that previous regimes appear to have ignored such outstanding players as V.J. Philips, a brilliant winger and member of the 1975 World Cup winning team, the mercurial Balbir Singh of the Railways who won the Asian Games gold medal for India in 1966. Also how is it that M.K. Kaushik was not recommended for the award after his performance in the 1980 Olympics?

As things stand Kaushik should be thankful for small mercies and accept whatever comes in his way without making too much of a fuss. He should in fact be happy that one of his star pupils, Pritam Rani, captain of the silver medal winning women’s team at Bangkok, will be receiving the Arjuna Award the same time.

When attitude matters

IN her devil-may-care attitude and carefree style of walking, there is a resolute will. She takes every competition in her stride. She wears long hair, generally ‘silenced’ with a ribbon on the course. She is all concentration from hole one. The stiffer the challenge, the better she plays.

She is Delhi’s Shruti Khanna, who succeeded in dethroning Chandigarh’s Parnita Garwal 295-298 in the AVT Smith India Ladies Golf Championship at Chennai. Her success in the opening campaign should provide her greater confidence to perform better as the season unfolds.

Parnita, a little younger than Shriti, has been a fine exponent as far as technique is concerned. She has in her to do much better than what she has been doing in the last year or about. But her problem is one: she plays too seriously. It renders her tense. A lapse — this is the lot of golfers of even renowned strature — she sulks. This leads her to run into more problems as the game progresses.

All cricket players and golfers are advised by their coaches that the next innings will be another innings and the next hole will be another hole. Tomorrow will be another day. The sermon is: forget what has already gone by. Concentrate afresh. If Parnita does that and plays her natural game, she should be able to bring about a complete transformation in her game on the domestic circuit. She has a lot of game in her bones provided she tries to stay relaxed, clam and calculative on the course.

Panita and all other aspirant golf players should take a leaf out of renowned golfers who are champions in this tournament but are unable to make the cut in the next. They neither remember their win nor do they brood over their failure in making the cut. They approach the next game with all the confidence. What is of paramount importance is that there should be, by and large, consistent display. If one is able to play percentage golf, one is bound to succeed.

Tough field

Nick Faldo and Jim Furyk will be seen in action in the Johnnie Walker Classic at Ta Shree Golf and County Club from November 9 to 14 next.

Faldo won the inaugural in Hong Kong in 1990 and captured the title for the second time in 1993. He has collected six major titles — the Open Championship in 1987, 1990 and 1992 and US Master in 1989, 1990 and 1996. He has represented Europe in the Ryder Cup on 11 successive years from 1977 to 1997 with as many as 23 victories.

Furyk, who represents Walker on the US PGA Tour, plays for the US Ryder Cup team. He represented the USA in 1997 and ensured his place in the 1999 after finishing a tie for 8th in the USA PGA Championship. Ranked 14th in the world, he has been one of the most consistent players for the last two years.

Tension

The more the prize money, the more tension builds within a leading player. This is natural. But one player is affected more than the other. This is truism.

Jeev Milkha Singh is a player whose pendulum of play swings more furiously than many others. He dazzles on two or three day and muffs up his play when on the threshold of making it. He seemed all set for qualifying in the British Open but then he lived up to his own reputation. He faltered at the doorstep of success.

Listening to tapes to uplift his game is a good move. But maybe, a psychologist, maybe a woman psychologist, can do the trick. He is a player, who has in him to outdo the deeds of his legendary father Milkha Singh. But he is a player who has to learn to control his nerves more than the ball. The golf ball is sensitive, but his nerves seem to be more sensitive. He needs to calm them at the right moment.

Win a morale booster for Kiwis

FULL marks to New Zealand’s Cricket team for beating the mighty England in the Oval Test. In this Test series , New Zealand would have clinched the series 3-1 had rain not come to the rescue of England in the third Test . This stunning triumph by the Kiwis would stand them in a good stead for the coming tour of India in October.

S.S.GIANI
Dialpura

* * * *

Sunita Rani

Indeed it was very heartening to learn that Sunita Rani, the 19-year- old Punjab girl broke the 1500 m national record on the opening day of the Federation Cup at Bangalore. She deserves praise for this achievement. Now it is the duty of the Punjab Government to look after her and provide her necessary infrastructure so that she may further improve her game and may put up a good show in the Asian and world championships.

Subhash C. Taneja
Rohtak

* * * *

Graf’s retirement

The decision of retirement taken by Steffi Graf at the age of 30 has disappointed tennis lovers. It shows how much people loved her game. Graf has won 22 Grand Slam titles and 107 WTA titles which is not an easy task to achieve. Her career graph was almost parallel to that of Germany’s male star Boris Becker. Both the players played a wonderful role in making tennis popular.

SUNIL DOGRA
Chandigarh

* * * *

Team selection

The selection committee has acted sensibly by including MSK Prasad in the squad. It seems he can also bat unlike Mongia who has mostly failed with the bat. The recall of Kambli was quite expected. It seems the time is ripe for Azhar to retire gracefully.

NIDHI BHATIA
Amritsar

* * * *

Arjuna Award

Congratulations to Indian cricketing stars Rahul Dravid and Nayan Mongia for being nominated for the prestigious Arjuna Award for the year 1998. Both these players are very talented and had done their best to uplift Indian cricket. Nayan Mongia has performed the job of a wicketkeeper very well for the past few years and has also done a praiseworthy job as a pinch hitter. His brilliant wicket-keeping can be judged from the fact that the reflex catch which he took in a World Cup match against Pakistan was adjudged the catch of the tournament. Rahul Dravid, on the other hand, has proved to be the backbone of the Indian cricket team with his solid batting at No. 3 position. He is at present the most technical batsman in the team. Both these players really deserved the award.

UMESH DEWAN
Ludhiana