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| SPORTS TRIBUNE | Saturday,
November 18, 2000, Chandigarh, India |
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No more Asian Games in India! Archery needs revival Tackling the ‘snob factor’ |
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No more Asian Games in India! SO it is Doha for the 2006 Asian Games. What a pleasant twist to the bidding game! And when it did come to voting New Delhi and the Indian Olympic Association was hardly anywhere in the picture. India had withdrawn after assessing the first round voting. While one must congratulate Doha for successfully bidding for the Games it must be said that somewhere down the lane India had made a mess of its chances. According to news from Pusan “Indian officials were conspicuously absent while Hong, Kuala Lumpur and the Qatar capital of Doha stepped up last minute lobbying. This was three to four days before the actual voting. A senior OCA Executive member even doubted India’s seriousness about hosting the Games. “New Delhi have been asking us whether they were serious contenders. I think they only want to take part in the vote if they are assured of getting the Games” was what he is supposed to have said. No tears need be shed about India losing out in its bid. The only regret is that when once the intention to bid for the Games was made the IOA should have gone about it more seriously. Obviously, there was some gross miscalculation. Otherwise how is one to view Suresh Kalmadi’s optimistic note as late as Tuesday (November 8). He is reported as saying: “We are confident we will win the bid for hosting the 2006 Games. We are ready with our presentation and we are going there in full strength to make our bid”. He had then ruled out pulling out of the race. “We met the leaders of the delegates of all Asian countries during the recent Sydney Olympic Games and have been promised support by most of them.” One wonder where the supporters vanished at the time when the vote was cast for Doha? Now that it is over no amount of rationalising and subterfuges will reverse the voting. India has cut a sorry figure not for losing out in its bid but by making a big noise before the actual voting. But then that is not something new. One had, however, hoped a little more maturity from such a seasoned politician-turned-sports administrator as Suresh Kalmadi. But now that everything is over it would be better for the Indian Olympic Association to think inwardly and start planning on improving the overall standard on the domestic front, not only in terms of performance but in the general administration of the federations. For far too long a time the Indian Olympic Association has not paid any attention to the working of the various affiliated federations. It is also time that the IOA make a determined effort to ensure an improvement in the general standard of all the disciplines. Bidding for international meets and hosting of major multi-discipline events like the Asian Games may contribute to enhancing the country’s reputation but it must also be remembered that as host India must also figure prominently in the medals tally. The eagerness to play host is not matched by performances. Till such time India should not bid for any major multi-discipline events. In fact the Government at the Centre must put its foot down. India cannot afford to continue to be the laughing stock of the world of sport. If it can do a competent job as host it should also be able do well in the field. The immediate task before the IOA and the Government is to ensure that the Afro-Asian Games to be held in Delhi next year are a major success. Having espoused the cause of the Games and successfully taking the pioneering lead the IOA must make it a model venture. India did not do badly as hosts of the Asian Games in 1982. The Afro Asian Games must be done equally well. It is of course difficult to turn our sportspersons into supermen and women and win medals in the time available. But India must not lag far behind. The standards in some of the Games, particularly in athletics, will be much higher than in the Asian Games. One hopes that that Amateur Athletics Federation of India makes amends for the failure in Sydney and ensures that the athletes repeat the performance recorded in the domestic season this current year. That in itself will be a great achievement. The other thing is to make sure that the maintenance of the restructured stadia and its facilities will be given top priority. It is sad to say that neither the IOA nor the responsible authorities has paid much heed in this respect after the 1982 Asiad. During these 18 years most of the stadia are in disrepair. The Nehru Stadium where the athletics and football competition was held is in a bad state of health, except of course for some of the area occupied by the Sports Authority of India. Even here the residential wing is in a mess. Visiting teams from the states and even national teams flying out of Delhi complain about lack of water and electricity. Even the rock climbers of all ages who came to Delhi to take part in the competition held at the Indian Mountaineering Institute had to go without water. No responsible person was there to help them out. As for the general outlook of the stadium the less said the better. The bucket chairs are broken, the bathrooms are stinking and the corridors have not seen a broom for years. A lot of repair work is need all round. As for the Shivaji stadium where a synthetic surface for the women’s hockey competition was laid, there is neither any turf left and nor for that matter any hockey played there. The Nehru Tournament, one of the biggest tournaments in the country, has shifted to the National Stadium and there too the turf is in terrible shape. It has been re-laid once after the Asian Games but lacks proper maintenance. The less said about the Indraprastha (Indira Gandhi) Indoor Stadium, the pride of the Asian Games. It’s a crying shame indeed that India just cannot look after its stadia. Once the Games are over the responsibility ends. That should not happen after the Afro Asian Games. The IOA cannot wash itself of the responsibility like it has after the Asian Games. One other important aspect which deserves immediate attention is the equipment. Indian sports persons just do not have the necessary equipment. Instead of wanting to host international meets the IOA should help the federation get the necessary equipment for the various disciplines. It is a rather pathetic to hear for instance a prominent javelin thrower complaining that she did not have the right type of javelin and did not have the money to buy the needed spear. That should be the responsibility of the federation and the IOA. The need of the moment is for introspection. The IOA needs to look closer home, into its own castle instead of trying to gain false prestige by hosting international meets. |
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Archery needs revival THE scrapping of the Special Area Games (SAG) Scheme has brought crashing down the soaring hopes of Indian archery, and the recently held Asian Circuit Third Round Archery Championship in Delhi, fully exposed the pathetic level in which the sport has sunk in the country. The championship, touted as a forum to test the archery prowess of the country, was a dismal show in all respect, as Singapore and Myanmar pulled out at the eleventh hour, leaving the field to just four teams — hosts India, Bhutan, Kazakhastan and Sri Lanka. Even Kazakhastan arrived after the championship had begun and Lanka brought their junior team, as they were under the impression that the Asian Junior Championship was being simultaneously held with the senior circuit. Even in a depleted field, India cut a sorry sight, and it was the lone gold won by Reena Kumari, that saved the hosts the blushes, in the three-day meet (October 30 to November 1), held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Reena prevented a clean sweep by Bhutan as she won the women’s individual gold by pipping her Bhutanese opponent, Tshering Chodden, by 106-104. Reena and Chodden were tied after the sixth and eighth arrows but the Indian girl showed precision shooting in later rounds to lift the gold. In the battle for the bronze, Dola Banerjee pipped her Indian teammate Sakro Besra 101-94 to the medal. Bhutan virtually swept the sweepstakes, bagging three out of four golds at stake, to assert their supremacy in their national sport. In the men’s individual gold medal clash, Bhutan’s Rinzin Choppel beat India’s Somai Murmu on the first tie-break arrow (10-8) after the archers were tied at the score of 107 points each. But in the fight for the bronze, India’s Gurcharan Besra upstaged Bhutan’s Tashi Penjor, with a 106-94 score. In the clash for the women’s team gold, Bhutan hit back to erase a seven-point lead by India to annex the gold, while the Indian men were also forced to go on the back foot, and surrender their lead, by Bhutan who thus claimed their third gold. The Indian women’s team of Reena Kumari, Chkrovolu Swuro and Jhanu Handsa had promised to deliver the gold, but in the end, they fell short of that extra bit, which differentiated the champions from the also-rans. The Bhutanese girls —Tshering Chodden, Karma Dechog and Kinley Dema — had kept their nerves when it came to the crunch, and helped them clinch the gold, with a late charge. The Indian men’s team of Kailash, Vishal and Lalrem Sanga too proved unequal to the task when it mattered the most as they allowed the Bhutanese team of Jubzang, Tashi Penjor and Rinzin Choppel to fight back from a hopeless position, and win the gold. The dip in the standard of Indian archers was very conspicuous, and the fading out of Limba Ram and Lalrem Sanga is a serious cause for concern. A few years ago, when the Sports Authority of India’s Special Area Games Scheme was in operation, Indian archery was on the upswing, particularly between 1989 and 1992. So much so that Limba Ram was even considered as a “medal prospect” in the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992. But the SAI did away with the SAG scheme, when its own officers made things difficult for the scheme to continue, though many talented players in different disciplines had emerged through the SAG schemes, particularly from the North-East, and the tribal areas of Gujarat, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Bengal, Orissa and south India. Unfortunately, the Archery Association of India (AAI) had failed to consolidate its talent base when the going was good, and when the scheme was scrapped without much of a notice, the AAI was caught napping, literally. And it’s yet to recover from the blow. The AAI has been functioning as a dormant body for quite some, with no major sporting activity to boast of, and as a result, the talent base of archery has shrunk considerably. But hopes are now pinned on the Tata Archery Academy, headed by present national coach Sanjeeva Singh, at Jamshedpur, and the “Gurukul” academy in Meerut, to harness archery talent available in the country. There is a lot of promise in juniors like Somai Murmur, H.C. Kerai, Kailash and Vishwas, but they can blossom into their full potential only if they are given proper training and competitive exposure and provided with the latest in playing gear. It’s time the AAI took a little more interest in harnessing emerging talent. |
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Tackling the ‘snob factor’ THE biggest programme of change in the history of British tennis has been announced, aiming to eliminate more than 100 years of snobbery. If the figures are what most sports see only in their dreams — £ 100 million is to be spent on revolutionising the game over 10 years — the targets of the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) sound almost like the stuff of fantasy. Rich incentives to get children on to courts will issue all of the 2,400 affiliated clubs an implicit message that they must change or die. A chain of 25 city clubs promoted by Tim Henman will, it is hoped, develop eventually into the conversion of 14,000 public park courts to new-era clubs. From that would follow a change in the sport’s entire culture. “In partnership with industry, schools, sponsors and private enterprise we will break down elitist barriers,” according to the LTA’s Chief Executive John Crowther. That such ambitions can be dared is down to soaring Wimbledon profits. From the 2000 Championships, which had a record domestic British television audience of 12.5 million for the men’s singles final and about 2.3 billion hits on the Wimbledon website, more than £ 31 million was handed over to the LTA. However, the past five years have produced about £ 150 million for the LTA and during that time it has endured as much disappointment and criticism as ever. So why will the millions work better now? Its answer is the new plan, after a consultation with 2,300 players, coaches and officials; the new man, the highly thought-of performance director Patrice Hagelauer; and the new mood, though perhaps it is really a new version of an old mood. “While the loss to Ecuador in the Davis Cup was awful news, it has given me and my colleagues a focus,” said Crowther. “Our preparatory work has now been completed. We are ready to deliver.” In truth though, the public parks scheme will begin with a relatively modest £ 1 million over the next two years, while there is a 40 per cent increase in funding for elite players to £ 5.6 million. But there is hopeful talk of getting the Williams sisters to endorse the scheme, and the former British Davis Cup champion Roger Taylor is a vigorous optimist. “I started in the local park and managed to make it to the Centre Court, and it’s an area which is really neglected,” the three-times Wimbledon semi-finalist said. “The LTA can’t make everyone a champion but it can now provide facilities, coaches and a programme which will give them an opportunity. I really believe in this,” Taylor insisted. |
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Kudos to Bagan for title win Congratulations to Mohun Bagan for lifting the prestigious Durand Cup, defeating Mahindra United 2-1 at Delhi. Both the teams engaged themselves in attacks and counter attacks in an unimpressive manner. In the second half the aggressive Mahindras taking advantage of a lapse on the part of Mohun Bagan defence succeeded in scoring the first goal. The determined Mohun Bagan managed to equalise just before the end of the second half. R.C. Prakash netted the golden goal in extra time. Kudos to Doordarshan for bringing quality football to its viewers. NIRMAL SINGH II Kudos to Mohun Bagan for capturing the Durand Cup for the 16th time. In the final they defeated arch rivals Mahindra United 2-1. Both the teams dished out lacklustre soccer in the barren first half. But after the breather the complexion of the game underwent a seachange as the contestants started playing at a terrific speed. The spectators were captivated by their quick attacks and counter-attacks. However, in the ding-dong battle for supremacy it was Mahindra United who fired the first salvo to clinch the lead. Mohun Bagan went on the rampage seeking the equaliser. Striker R.C. Prakash slammed in the ‘golden goal’ in the beginning of the extra time. TARSEM S. BUMRAH Cricket’s popularity With allegations of match-fixing flying thick and fast, one often ponders what difference have such events made to the game’s immense popularity. Cricket to a die hard enthusiast is just the same. There are people for whom cricket continues to remain an obsession. The betting element has given the game a new-found relevance among stasticians with ratios like probability of fixing superceding the more common net run rate, strike rate and the bowling and batting averages. The overall viewership has dropped marginally. There is a small segment which claims to have developed an animosity towards cricket after gaining knowledge about the ‘filth’ associated with it. harsh taneja CCA’s contribution The Chandigarh Cricket Association (affiliated to the Punjab Cricket Association) welcomes the decision of the BCCI of deputing a three-member committee to visit ‘City Beautiful’ with a view to seeing the cricketing facilities available in the city in order to consider the claim for grant of direct affiliation with the BCCI. The Chandigarh Cricket Association has made major contributions in promoting, organising and popularising cricket in Chandigarh even in the absence of direct affiliation from the BCCI. Since 1972 the Chandigarh Cricket Association has hosted many international and one-day games featuring India, England, Australia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and West Indies, besides Ranji Trophy matches. The Chandigarh Cricket Association participates in all four age-group tournaments conducted by the Punjab Cricket Association. MOHINDER SINGH Vladmir Kramnik Vladmir Kramnik ended the 15-year-old monopoly of Garry Kasparov in world chess. Russia continues to produce chess kings, and a tremendous domination of the game by Russian players and Grandmasters seems entirely obvious. Chess activity in Russia is characterised by a large number of chess clubs, academies, weekend chess tournaments and much more. Chess literature is annually churned out from the Soviet press. A nation studded with such infrastructure and facilities is bound to produce many players of merit. India must learn a lesson from the Russians. APURVA BAKSHI |
