The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

AIFF must draw up more objective policy
By Ramu Sharma

The All-India Football Federation (AIFF) never appears to be tired of looking for foreign coaches, changing the schedules of major tournaments and trying to start ambitious programmes without making an effort to honour the commitments on the calendar. In fact, the sum total of Mr. Dasmunshi’s verbal offering to the media earlier in the month was nothing but an annual retake of what the AIFF plans for the year. And there is no change in the script.

The AIFF President, Mr Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi, cannot be faulted for repeating the same thing over and over again, year after year. The functioning of the federation depends to a considerable degree on the progress made by Indian football. But since there is no progress worth recording, his pronouncements at the annual press conferences have nothing new to offer. The standard of the game has been at a standstill. The federation too has thus no choice but to defend the static state of affairs with fresh promises and hold out new hopes.

Mr Dasmunshi is reported to have sounded the media about the plans for a foreign coach to mould the team for the pre-World Cup tournament likely to be held in April and the Afro-Asian Games slated for November next year. One would have thought that the AIFF had already finalised the coaches by now. Time is running out and no Indian team can be prepared, at least for the more important Afro-Asian Games, in so short a time. While on the subject how is it that India is repeatedly changing its coaches? Is there something wrong with the AIFF working or the coaches who have come and gone so far have not been up to the mark.

Given the general standard of Indian football these days it is well nigh impossible for any foreign coach, no matter how sympathetic he is to the cause of Indian football, to work miracles. There have been reports that some of the earlier coaches had not been very happy with the general attitude of the officials in the AIFF. If that is so, then it is time that the attitudes underwent some sort of transformation.

At the same the AIFF appears to be also looking for a suitable coach for the youth development programme. One wonders why a new coach is needed when Mr Ismail Akhmadov was appointed to the post only early this year? And isn’t Rustam Akhramov, the coach from Uzbek who has done a couple of stints at a national coach at the senior level, recommended for the job by the Asian body?

The federation must give the coaches some time to settle down, at least a minimum of three years before opting for a change. The AIFF must understand that the foreign coaches have never really dealt with anything so varied and raw as the Indian senior team. The boys come from various backgrounds and not all of them can understand the pronunciation of the foreign coach.

It is a pity that the AIFF has deferred the proposed tour of Korea till next year. It would have helped the footballers considerably, as one presumes the short tour of England earlier this year. This was the first time after the London Olympics of 1948 that an Indian football team went to England. The team, according to Mr Dasmunshi, gained a lot in confidence but took time to adjust. For the records India lost to Fulham FC by two goals but went on to play a goalless draw against Bromwich Albion. They then went on to beat Bangladesh by a solitary goal. Surprisingly the team, as told to the reporters by the AIFF, was tired by the time they played Bangladesh. It is rather a harsh admission that Indian players were tired after playing just two matches.

It is a sad commentary on the level of fitness of the players. Mr Dasmunshi has said that “our players lack the physical strength to last 90 minutes if the matches are held without much rest in-between.” Surely the boys play more than two matches in more than a week in India and in the National League they have often to travel considerable distances to different weather conditions. The only consolation is Mr Dasmunshi’s assurance that this aspect (lack of physical strength to last 90 minutes) is being looked into “ by our experts”.

There is some talk about revamping the Nehru Cup into a series. But why? What is wrong with the original format? And irrespective of the format why not get on with the schedule as it is instead of putting the tournament in cold storage. And again on the one hand the federation is having difficulty in continuing with a popular tournament and in the same breath it is talking about an addition tournament, a Padma-Ganga tournament involving top three teams from Bangladesh and India.

Also there is a move to change the timing of the National Football League. The AIFF must not even think about it. The NLF is the best thing that has happened to Indian football in a long time and should be allowed to continue in the same vein irrespective of difficulties. In fact all other tournaments, including the Santosh Trophy and the Federation Cup, could be adjusted so as not to interfere with the NLF.

The National League will going into its fourth year and it is time that the AIFF thought of giving it a permanent schedule in the football calendar. The staging of the NLF and the clash of dates of other tournaments held by the AIFF has already affected some major tournaments in the country. The popular DCM Tournament appears to have vanished from the calendar and the Durand just about manages to survive. If anything, the AIFF should try and fit these and other such tournaments into the calendar instead of fiddling around with the other schedules. There is no need for a new tournament like the Padma-Ganga Cup to be squeezed into the already tight schedule. It is a bit hard on the players to be kept so busy and without a break.

As it is coaches attached to the national teams have protested about the lack of response from senior players to camps held prior to international engagements. Nothing so far appears to have been done to discipline the erring players. By expanding the calendar to include another major international the AIFF is only putting more pressure on the players. If the AIFF wants to give the footballers more exposure why not call some British second division clubs during winter months to play matches in India and that too without disturbing the NLF programme? This is something that can be done on a reciprocal basis every year with some clubs in England.

Judoka languishes in poverty
By Chander Parkash

Tarsem Lal, who won the gold medal at the All-India Inter-University Championship in judo in 1999, today languishes in abject poverty. With no financial aid coming either from the government or any other quarter, Tarsem Lal wants to return all the medals he has won in his more than nine years of sports career.

With no money for his admission fee, Tarsem Lal’s academic career has also come to a standstill. It is even difficult for him to arrange money for his nutritious diet, to keep his physique fit for sports.

To make both ends meet Tarsem Lal, who passed B.A. part I in April 1999, has been forced to do petty jobs. His 65-year-old father Jagan Nath, too works as a construction labourer despite his failing health.

Tarsem Lal has won many medals and taken part in many meets. He was placed third in the National School Games in 1992 at Dhar in MP, second in Junior National Games in 1995-96 in Delhi, won the gold medal in junior national championship in 1995-96 at Bhopal, gold medal in junior national championship in 1996-97 at Pune, apart from the gold medal in the Federation Cup Championship in 1995 in Delhi.

Tarsem Lal, who turned 20 on April 12, also participated in the India Cup International Judo Championship in 1997 at Lucknow. he defeated a Sri Lankan player in this championship. He had also won gold medals in various district and state-level championships.

In a letter written to the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, and the Union Sports Minister, Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, Tarsem Lal says he wants to return his gold medals as these achievements have failed to land him the job of even a police constable.

Players with lesser achievements have been given government jobs. So far the Punjab Government has not provided him any financial aid. He had not been selected as a constable despite the fact that he went for trials at PAP complex, Jalandhar.

Today, he is no more able to practise as he had to arrange food for the survival of his father, mother and himself.

Tarsem Lal can bring laurels for the country if the government helps him and provides him a suitable job. Only then, can he practise and add more achievements and medals to his kitty.

Recapturing lost glory of cricket
By R.K. Ohri

Black is beautiful; more so if it is black money. This uncalled for greed and lust for money have reduced the nobility of the game of cricket and the players have turned from heroes to villains. Despite this sea change in the behaviour and attitude of the players, they continue to hold enormous pride in playing for the country.

Imagine the sentiments of a player when he achieves the big breakthrough of representing the country. He rises as a star. The confidence that he gains changes his lifestyle ad he becomes a different man altogether.

The player representing his country is paid handsomely. Yet he falls prey to greed for acquiring “black money”! Why does this happen? An interesting analysis made on “general human failing by Dr M.S. Gill, Chief Election Commissioner, highlights human being’s desire to go for short cuts. These ‘short cuts’ subsequently prove to be the bane which causes immense human suffering. Even Hansie Cronje would readily agree with this as he has paid a very high price for his short cuts and indiscretion.

There is another area of sense of pride to be had for a person. If one is above certain financial level, one ought to pay tax with a sense of pride. A responsible citizen would do that and a sportsperson should be man enough to readily contribute. This often does not happen because when a sportsperson sees many people getting away without obeying the law, he also tends to grow weak in his obligations to the Government and country.

In order to reverse the trend, there is urgent need to employ more effective checks. Like government officials, all sportspersons, particularly cricket players, tennis players and golfers should be made to declare their incomes and assets annually.

Probing on betting and match-fixing in Pakistan, Justice Mian Malik Mohammad Qayuum has recommended that all players making debut for their country should declare their assets and declare them annually until they retire. Similar kind of legislation is needed in the Indian system.

The time seems to have come when there should be a directive pertaining to accepting of gifts by cricket stars. The rules pertaining to property, income-tax and gifts should be provided to all players, who represent their country.

The Income Tax Department should step up its ‘PR’ efforts so that stars come forward to pay tax regularly. Such honoured tax payers should be lauded and their declaration given wide publicity so that others get motivated to pay tax without defaulting.

Match-fixing and tax evasion are passing phases because the game is much greater than these pinpricks and hazards. One thing is certain that things would not have reached such a pass if the administration had not been engaged in deep slumber all these years.

In the end, the game is much bigger than individuals and soon it will recapture its image and glory.

The writer is a former captain of the Services cricket team.

Chance for India to end gold drought

India’s present hockey squad has bright chances of winning the gold after a drought of 20 years. India are placed in an easy pool with Australia. They can beat other teams like Argentina, Spain, South Korea and Kenya. Pakistan for all practical purposes, will have to struggle to salvage lost pride. India will have to go all out to beat hosts Australia. India have earlier been beaten by the hosts in the four-Nation pre-Olympic exercise. It is hoped that the present team with Dhan Raj Pillay and coach Baskaran at the helm will leave nothing to chance. For the Aussies, the Olympics provide the last chance to win the gold. If India get past the Aussies, South Korea and Argentina they can make last four grade.

Sunder Singh
Dialpura

Quality cricket

The match between Asia XI and ROW XI played at The Oval on July 29 was won by ROW XI in two senses. Statistically they won it by 15 runs. Otherwise they showed that it was not necessary to score big hundreds to win a one-day match. It is the nature of performance that counts. In contrast, the match played between ROW XI and Asia XI at Dhaka on April 8 produced as many as 650 runs with Michael Bevan scoring an epic 185. Where is the opportunity for bowlers on these surfaces? I enjoyed Astle’s 51 and Hussain’s 45 equally well with Cairns, Mullaly’s and Srinath’s spells. On Asian wickets, we don’t see 200 being defended successfully anymore and that’s because we don’t have quality cricket board members to give us quality cricket. I wonder for how long will this continue! Is anybody listening?

Vinish Garg
Chandigarh

Williams’ win

Kudos to Venus Williams for annexing the Wimbledon women’s singles crown. She defeated her compatriot and title holder Lindsay Davenport in straight sets to claim her first Grand Slam title. Thus she became the first Afro-American after Althea Gibson to win the women’s singles title. Maintaining her scintillating form, she played superb tennis throughout the tournament. She conquered Martina Hingis in the quarterfinal and showed no compassion in ousting her own sister in the semifinal. In the final, she completely dominated over her rival in the first set. The second set witnessed a see-saw battle between the two. It could have gone either way. But not losing her nerve, Venus exerted tremendous pressure under which Davenport wilted paving the way for Venus’ victory. Moreover, it was through her abundant talent, tremendous resolve, blistering pace, great stamina and remarkable athleticism that Venus prevailed over the reigning Wimbledon champion to fulfil her childhood dream of winning at the All-England Club. I congratulate her on her memorable and magnificent victory.

Tarsem S. Bumrah
Batala

Abhinav Bindra

Abhinav Bindra of Chandigarh has suddenly come into the limelight. Abhinav impressed in the air rifle shooting scoring 596 out of 600 at the World Cup shooting meet in Germany. He, with his great concentration, sheer will and balanced technique, proved his mettle in 177 calibre. Abhinav is only 17 years old and really has a very bright future. India has great hopes from him in the forthcoming Sydney Olympics. I hope Abhinav wins the firstever shooting gold for India in the Olympics. He is a rising star in shooting. I wish him success in the Olympics.

Rajdeep Singh
Phagwara