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| SPORT TRIBUNE | Saturday, October 28, 2000, Chandigarh, India |
Where is Indian football? By Ramu Sharma Whatever is happening in Indian football these days. The year is already nine months old and there is still no sign of the Federation Cup. And what has happened to the federation’s most ambitious offering — the Scissors Cup? And when is the All-India Football Federation going to restart its international tournaments, the Nehru, Indira Gandhi and the Rajiv Gandhi? Passionate soccer lover This Khan has made an impact Teeing-off |
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Where is Indian football? Whatever is happening in Indian football these days. The year is already nine months old and there is still no sign of the Federation Cup. And what has happened to the federation’s most ambitious offering — the Scissors Cup? And when is the All-India Football Federation going to restart its international tournaments, the Nehru, Indira Gandhi and the Rajiv Gandhi? All that one has been given to understand so far is that an Indian football team played some matches against clubs in England, one against Bangladesh and that Baichung Bhutia is having a reasonable time with an English club. At least he has scored some goals. For the rest the only news pertained to the International Federation questioning the AIFF about the use of the development fund and the court case against the parent body by the IFA on matter relating to funds. In the normal course, till a few years ago anyway, the AIFF would have completed the Scissors Tournament and the Federation Cup and the IFA Shield would have run its full course with all the top teams, including those from Punjab, Maharashtra and of course Goa, taking part. What we have till now in the new season is just a bare minimum. The Calcutta Football League, normally a long drawn affair with a lot of thrills and the sadly truncated IFA Shield, another lacklustre affair. In fact the IFA Shield, one of the oldest and most prestigious tournaments in the country, was over even before one felt its impact. It was a local affair, almost with just JCT and State Bank of Travancore for variety. All over in eleven days. So much was promised in the beginning of the year, of tournaments with an Asian flair and special feast for juniors. And of course another tournaments with clubs from Bangladesh involved. Foreign coaches were to be appointed and a genuine effort would be made to broadbase the whole system. And there was even talk of the duration of the National League being extended to conform to the tournaments in England and elsewhere on the recommendation of the international body. This proposal itself was faulty if also very naive since India is not Europe and it would be a great disservice to the game and the States if the NLF was so extended to absorb and eliminate the National Championships. But the proposal was there and the federation did take the media into confidence. What happened afterwards is anyone’s guess. Nothing really! Time is running out and nothing is coming forth about the plans for the immediate future. There is still no news whether the NLF will be conducted the way it has been for the past few years or it will take on a new form. And there is still no news about the dates of major tournaments like the Rovers Cup. The little Durand or the Subroto Cup Tournament has already more than midway through and is generally the preamble to the main tournament, the Durand. Perhaps it is like going over the same theme over and over again but something must be done to revive the DCM Trophy Tournament. It was one of the most popular tournaments in the country and the best known one outside of the country. More importantly it gave Indian football players of tremendous ability. DCM will always be
synonymous with players like Inder Singh, Gurkripal Singh, Bhupinder Singh Rawat and in fact the entire Punjab squad. It was the DCM Tournament that introduced Leaders Club and JCT Club Phagwara, Rajasthan Armed Constabulary (remember Magan Singh) and many such teams to Indian football. And it was DCM which brought the famous Taj Club from Teheran, the first of the big foreign offerings which made the tournament one of the most sought after, in particular by Asian clubs. Today the tournament has virtually become non-existent. It has not been held for the last two or three years and unless the All-India Football Federation comes to its rescue, the tournament will disappear from the scene. That is something that cannot be allowed to happen. Part of the blame for the state of affairs must be shared by the AIFF which refused to allocate proper dates to the tournament. And dates when given clashed with other events with the result that the organisers had to be satisfied with a truncated, glamour-less version. Despite the promises made earlier in the season and the opening of the doors by England for Indian players and perhaps tours by Indian teams in future, football in the country appears to be languishing. India has no hopes for the Olympics or the World Cup but efforts could be made to regain its position in the Asian community. It will be a difficult job no doubt since the other countries have left India far behind. But there is no harm in hoping. One often forgets that India was one of the strongest teams in Asia. It won the Asian Games title twice and its junior team was among the top combinations, vying with honours with the juniors from Iran for the title. This was some time in the mid-70s when Indian football was at its peak. Since then the standard of the game in both countries fell. In Iran it was because of the political turmoil while in India, it was just one of those things. There was no real reason for the slump. But in recent times Iran has surfaced again and is doing extremely well, once again among the top. India, however remains at the bottom. There has to be some reason for the decay. Maybe the AIFF has the answer? Immediately, however, the federation must implement the plans which it elaborated earlier in the year. And that too without disturbing the system drastically. |
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Passionate soccer lover THE super star of Indian soccer, Jarnail Singh, who died this month, was a passionate lover of the game. He was born in West Punjab (Pakistan) in 1936. Obviously, this God-gifted child passed through several vicissitudes in his early life. I vividly remember that during Partition, several talented soccer kids got lost in the wilderness. After coming over to East Punjab, Jarnail’s saintly father, Mr Ujager Singh, who was a farmer, temporarily settled at Nainowal village near Sarhala Mudian in Hoshiarpur, although, he was a native of Mazara Dingrian, Mahilpur. Coincidently this village had also produced an Olympian athlete somewhere in 1932 or 1936. He was a long jumper. Jarnail Singh’s school trainer was the Late Harbans Singh, P.T.I. at Khalsa High School, Sarhal Mudian village. I was employed as Director, Physical Education at Khalsa College Mahilpur, and our college team had already lifted the Panjab University football trophy in 1953. This historic trophy was donated by Maharaja Ripudaman Singh of Nabha in 1896 to Panjab University then based in Lahore. The ground where Jarnail Singh was playing in Siekry village was uneven and marshy. The young Jarnail was running after the ball like an Afghan hound. His stamina and ball control were superb. During daytime the father and son used to roam about from village to village to get their land transferred to some better area. Ultimately Jarnail Singh and his family permanently settled at Panam village near Garhshankar. I too did not leave chasing this youngster with the sole purpose of bringing him to Mahilpur college. However, everytime his refusal was based on the single plea of poverty and his family’s helplessness. Anyway, I prevailed over this player and finally persuaded him migrate from Arya College, Nawanshahr,
to Khalsa College, Mahilpur. This proved to be a turning point in his life. Like the world famous Maradona, Jarnail’s family life, too, was packed to the very corner of his house. He has three sisters and five daughters. He was married at a very young age to a dedicated house wife. He also had an unmarried, ‘Taya’, soft spoken mother and two promising sons. He agreed to come to Khalsa College, Mahilpur, at my behest. Consequently, in 1954-55 we again lifted the university football trophy with the help of this newcomer. This college started in 1946 could not win university match till 1952. In 1953 I took charge of the college soccer team. When Jarnail left for Calcutta we walked up to the Mahilpur bus stand as I wanted to see him off. After reaching Calcutta, he addressed me his first letter dated May 13, 1959, at my Hoshiarpur address which is still in my possession in Vancouver, B.C. The contents of the letter reveal how innocent he was. I wish to place this letter in a museum along with his football boots, jerseys and some memorable photographs if at all it is raised in Panam. Why did Jarnail go astray in his later life? Year after year, death snatched away his family members one after another, including his father, mother, wife, one son, besides his close friend, Rameet, his issueless ‘Taya’ and even his cattle. Pangs of separation derailed Jarnail who fell prey to
lonelines.
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This Khan has made an impact Speedster Zaheer Bakhtiyar Khan, who was instrumental in India’s 13-run victory over Zimbabwe at Sharjah on Sunday, with a three-wicket haul, has burst on to the cricket scene by underlining his utility as an effective new-ball bowler. A find of the recent International Cricket Council (ICC) Knockout tournament in Nairobi earlier this month, the 22-year-old has given India hope for the future, as far as the opening attack is concerned. The speedster, whom Mumbai did not find worthy of a place in its Ranji Trophy state team a couple of years ago, has lots of skill, promise and the required enthusiasm to become the worthy successor to Karsan Ghavri — the last left-arm medium pacer to have played for the country (discounting Ashish Nehra, who played an Asian Championship match against Sri Lanka in Colombo in 1998). Of course, it is early days yet to predict a place for Khan in cricket’s hall of fame. Experts Sunil Gavaskar, Geoff Boycott, former Australian captain Richie Benaud and Peter Roebuck, the former captain of Somerset county, have already complimented Khan on his confident showing. Former India Test player Sudhir Naik, who first saw Khan in action on his arrival in Mumbai, has said that he held the promise to become a class bowler. Khan, in fact, played for Naik’s National Cricket Club (NCC) and later represented Mumbai’s under-19 team. Naik then suggested that he join the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai to sharpen his skills, and try to represent some other state or association. Khan spent three years at India’s premier pace bowling school and learnt the nuances of fast bowling from Australian Dennis Lillee and resident coach T.A. Sekhar, a former India bowler. Again on Naik’s advice, Khan opted to play for Baroda. The only person who plugged for Khan during the early days was Sanjay Manjrekar. According to Naik, when Manjrekar was the Mumbai captain he was keen on including Khan in the team. But, with Manjrekar’s retirement in early 1998, Khan’s fortunes vis-a-vis Mumbai plummeted. Born on October 7, 1978 in Shrirampur in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra, Khan schooled at the New Marathi Primary School and K.J. Somaiyya Secondary School. He moved to Mumbai in search of cricketing glory a few years ago. His father — a photographer — had a long discussion with Naik, who was instantly convinced of Khan’s aptitude as a bowler. Khan decided to stay put in Mumbai and went on to represent the NCC. The decision also meant that his plans to make a career in engineering would have to be abandoned. But, as it turned out, the decision proved to be a wise one. On Lillee’s advice Khan visited and trained at the Australian Cricket Academy. They also toured New Zealand as part of the academy team to play a few matches with that country’s national academy. The opportunity to bowl in different and trying conditions helped them learn crucial lessons. Khan was then picked for the first batch of the Bangalore-based National Cricket Academy (NCA), which opened on May 1 last year. Later in the season, he made his first-class debut for Baroda and ended the season with 42 wickets at 31.45, including in the Duleep Trophy inter-zonal matches. This put him at the ninth place among the country’s overall wicket-takers’, seven of whom were spinners. The only medium pacer who took more wickets than Khan was Ashish Winston Zaidi of Uttar Pradesh, with 48 wickets at 27.41. In the Ranji Trophy alone, Khan played eight matches and took 35 wickets at 29.25. He recorded five-wicket hauls on three occasions and once bagged 10 wickets in a match. His best performance has been five for 43 against Bihar in a Ranji super league game. Besides, he also represented the West Zone in the Duleep and Deodhar Trophy tournaments. — India Abroad News Service |
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Teeing-off Both Irina Brar and Parnita Grewal are talented and promising. Both belong to a sporting city — Chandigarh. Both are good at studies and both are
focused at golf. But their progress has not been in keeping with their potential because they have not developed their
mental faculties to the extent the exacting discipline demands. Irina retained the Northern India Ladies title at Delhi, recently untroubled. Parnita was runner-up. But their display was inconsistent and the scorecard far below their known ability and skill. Their performance in razor-sharp competitions, particularly abroad, will continue to suffer until and unless they develop faith in themselves. Both Irina and Parnita may not be as long hitters of the ball as they should be. They certainly cannot be Simi Mehra. But their long and short game is reasonably sound. What is required of them is to play freely. Golf is a strange discipline. Here one is engaged in playing against one-self. The more one worries about the opponent the more one will falter. Fame and glory in international circuit is as difficult and long drawn out as the 18-hole course itself! Similar is the state of play of Shruti Khanna. She raised visions two years ago at the Delhi Golf Club course that she belonged to a different mental make-up. But she did not live up to her promise. Her victory then turned out to be one of those things that happens in any discipline, golf included. No less talented is Anjali Chopra. But these four players, young and coming from well-to-do families need psychological build-up more than coaching. In Nonita Lal Qureshi, these players have a good manager and coach. Herself a fine exponent of golf, she can provide them a few lessons on the course. What is important is that they have to develop the will power of doing it. Maybe, devoting a little time in the “gym” will help them develop their physical and mental faculties. All these players were in Hong Kong for an international competition. Their acclimatisation on the Fanling Golf Course should help them perform well in the Queen Sirikit Championship early next year. The performance in this prestigious competition will reveal how much progress Irina or Parnita or Shruti have made. Gaurav Ghei wins Many leading pros, like Jeev Milkha Singh, Amritinder Singh, Vivek Bhandari and Arjun Singh were absent but the inaugural Hindustan Times Championship at the DLF Course was a grand success as the organisers went out of their way to provide players all the facilities. It was a contest between two well known pros, Gaurav Ghei and Jyoti Randhawa. And Ghei did the trick. Unmindful of the wind and tricky greens, 30-day-old Ghei played consistently to win the title with a course record of 18-under 270 (66, 68, 68, 68). It was a grand display on all four days. His victory gave him a lot of confidence as he defeated
Randhawa by as many as seven strokes (65, 70, 68, 74). Randhawa had set the course ablaze on the opening day as he carded a fantastic score of 65. Ghei
was five strokes ahead at the half-way mark. That inspired him to play still more freely. He finished with a 25-foot birdie on the final hole on the final day to win the title and Rs 1,29,600. Welcome addition The standards at the first Rotary International Golf Championship, organised by Noida Rotary club at the Classic Golf Resort, were more than satisfactory. Who won or who did not was of little concern. What was paramount in the minds of the players and others was that the contest was
organised for a Noble cause. Many golfers of varying ages from foreign countries were seen in action. They had all assembled to raise funds for poor people and provide them with modern facilities to help them develop their faculties. Judging from the enthusiastic response, the competition is likely to be an annual feature. Foreign participants were all praise of the course which is indeed very beautiful. |
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Induct more youngsters AFTER convincing wins over Australia and South Africa, the Indian cricket team again displayed hollowness in capitalising on the last 10 overs. Though the present team showed a marked difference in their approach with the inclusion of some young players, but still it is not a well-knit team. Kambli, Agarkar and Vijay Dahiya have not played according to expectations. Robin Singh is an old war horse. These players should be replaced with Jadeja, Srinath, Mongia and Sodhi. Yuvraj is the find of the tournament and Zahir Khan will be a great asset to the team. M. K. JAIN II Despite India’s loss in the final of the ICC Knockout Tournament, the performance was quite creditable. After a long time, they played like a cohesive unit. All players gave their best to trounce Australia and South Africa. A lot of positive aspects have emerged. The performance of Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan indicates that good days are ahead for Indian cricket. It would be advisable to include a couple of promising youngsters in place of old faces. RAJNEESH GOYAL Kudos to Kiwis Congratulations to the new Zealand cricket team for winning the ICC Knockout Tournament. They really deserved it and they played with a proper gameplan unlike others. India had no gameplan in the final. R.N. BHAT Jarnail Singh It is sad that football Olympian Jarnail Singh is no more. Besides being a football legend he was a very fine human being, unassuming and humble to the core. When he had already made a mark in the football world, he would gather five or six of us, put us on one side, be all by himself on the other and play with us with a tennis ball. He would give us tips on how to tackle. One boy Raghbir Singh Gill, made a mark as a footballer and a coach. The best homage to Jarnail Singh would be to scout for talent and train a few more footballers like him. AMARJIT S DEEPAK |
