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| SPORTS TRIBUNE | Saturday, December 2, 2000, Chandigarh, India |
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IPFA on collision course with AIFF Teeing-off Mixed response to new scoring system Navjot emerges unscathed |
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A new chapter in Indian football? THE ongoing war of words between the All-India Football Federation and the newly formed Indian Premier Football Association appears to be heavily tilted in favour of the official body. Not only because the AIFF is a representative organisation recognised by the international federation (FIFA) but also because the many state associations which vote to elect the office-bearers of the national body will not do anything to upset an official organisation. It is just not done. It is not good politics. It is not as if the AIFF is above criticism or is sacrosanct. If anything the overall picture as seen from the football field is of an organisation which has lost its path and appears to be having no sense of direction. The organisation needs to be cleansed and revitalised. But it has to be done from within. In this respect the reported move of Mr Samir Thapar, the PFA chief and also owner of the JCT club, to contest the elections assumes great importance. He may or not be able to make much of an impact as far as votes go but he will have set a rare precedent of challenging the establishment, in this case Mr Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi who has been at the helm of affairs for 12 years. Mr Samir Thapar’s decision to fight against Mr Dasmunshi is the best thing that could have happened to Indian football. Mr Thapar has the goodwill of all football followers, having been a pioneering figure in administration of the game in the Punjab even as the late Jarnail Singh played the leading role in making the state one of the leading football playing units of the AIFF. Mr Thapar has done enough for Indian football to deserve the honour of lending his administrative ability in revitalising the game in the country. In fact Mr Samir Thapar’s entry into the election fray is more important than all the reservations and protestations of the IPFA with Mr Vijay Mallya and other industrialists at the helm of affairs. Though Mr Vijay Mallya has more than once denied that his organisation was a parallel body and that it would work within the framework of the apex body. Some of his colleagues in the IPFA appear to be projecting views totally at variance. The elections, to be held on December 16, may or may not be the reason for the current problems between the AIFF and the IPFA but its importance cannot be ruled out. At the same time it is still not very clear what exactly the IPFA wants from the AIFF. To say that the league should be run professionally means absolutely nothing. What exactly does “run professionally” mean? Wanting more representation in organisation of the League is something the AIFF has not refused. In fact in this war of words one has looked in vain for the genesis of the whole problem. According to some sources this joining of clubs with blessings of the corporate sector has been in the offing for some six months or so. Perhaps it started with Mr Ranjit Gupta of the IFA taking recourse to legal measures questioning financial irregularities within the AIFF, pointing a finger in the main at Mr Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi. This plus the added factor of the differences betweeen Mr K.N. Mour, the secretary, and Mr Dasmunshi. The trouble thus may have started in Bengal but has since spread not to the states but to the senior clubs — Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Mohammedan Sporting and Tollygunge Agragami from Calcutta, Salgaocar, Churchill Brothers from Goa, Mahindra United from Mumbai, F.C. Kochin from Kochi and JCT Phagwara from Punjab. Owned or sponsored by industrialists, these clubs under the banner of the IPFA have taken on the parent federation, striking where it hurts the AIFF the most, at the time the apex body wanted to start the National League. Some of the issues raised by these clubs are genuine enough but what really puzzles one is why this particular moment? Was it done it influence the elections or was it is a sort of a wake-up call? It is the timing of this protest and noise by the IPFA that has queered the pitch for the AIFF. It would not be in the interest of the IPFA to destroy what has been one of the first steps the AIFF has taken in livening up the game in India. The NFL may have somewhat become sluggish in the last two editions but that does not mean the idea is bad. It was a copy of the league in Japan and elsewhere, mainly the UK. It has to be adjusted to suit Indian conditions. The bone of contention has been the running of the league. The IPFA wants more media exposure, more teams and more money and say. In fact it wants to run the league itself. The AIFF has in some ways conceded the demands by setting up a special committee to run the league. But it cannot do much about the poor response from the visual media. Doordarshan has the contract and controls the purse strings. If there has been some shortfall in money and coverage the fault lies with Doordarshan, the AIFF cannot do much about it. It can only wring its hands and pray that Doordarshan will honour its financial commitments as also the promise to give proper coverage. In the earlier edition the responsibility was with Star TV and the teams did not have reasons to complain. Star TV coverage was certainly very forceful. The same cannot be said of Doordarshan, which apart from lacking in quality is not also able to telecast the match the same day. The other major demand is the increase in the number of teams. That can be done but not immediately. Here the clubs should understand that India cannot afford to run a national league for five months or so on the lines of Great Britain and other countries. With so many states and so many players no matter what the standard. One cannot simply do away with the national championships involving the state teams. One could have understood the grouse of the clubs if the whole thing had just related to the conduct of the league. But the IPFA has also asked questions about the Nehru Cup, the Federation Cup and other pertinent matters. That is where the IPFA’s motives can be questioned. If it wants to run the NFL independently but within the framework of the AIFF, there should not be much difficulty. But when it raises questions about the overall working of the AIFF, then the whole thing become a more serious issue. The uncertainty about the actual demands was reportedly reflected in attitude of Mr Anjan Mitra of the Mohun Bagan in the emergency meeting of the NFL and other interested parties in Delhi last. He chose to keep quiet at the meeting which ended with near unanimity on the question of launching the NFL and then later, in his talk with the media, sang a different song, a defiant one. At the time of writing, the AIFF appears to have taken a firm stand on the conduct of the league while the IPFA has threatened to boycott it. At the same time preparations are afoot for the elections on December 16 and Mr Samir Thapar has thrown his hat in. Whatever the outcome one thing is sure, — times are bound to change for Indian football. The AIFF establishment can no longer take everything for granted. There are forces other than those within who are also interested in the welfare of the game in India.
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IPFA on collision course with AIFF Contrary to expectations, the newly set-up Indian Premier Football Association
(IPFA) under the presidentship of liquor baron Vijay Mallya has now come in direct confrontation with football's governing body, namely the All-India Football Federation
(AIFF). Having failed to make the AIFF President, Mr Priya Ranjan
Dasmunshi, see reason and bring him around to the negotiating table, the
IPFA, representing as many as nine top clubs of the country, has announced a boycott of the high-profile National Football League which nevertheless stands postponed to December 10. In fact the IPFA decision was hardly surprising as it had already made its stand known in advance.When pushed into a corner by Mr Dasmunshi's announcement regarding the start of the league from December 10, the IPFA hit back as expected.‘‘It is obvious that the AIFF President has fallen prey to the outgoing Executive Committee's pressure,’’ said a strongly worded statement issued by Mr Mallya's office in Mumbai. The turn of events suggest that Mr Dasmunshi, relying on a strong vote bank, has decided to meet the serious IPFA challenge head-on. At a press conference in New Delhi a few days back, he revealed his plans for the launch of the fifth edition of the national league.Having realised that the IPFA threat was not hollow, Mr Dasmunshi also announced that as many as five teams would be stand-bys in case member clubs of the IPFA decide to pull out of the NFL.The teams which he named as probable replacements are BSF, Jalandhar,Dempo Sports Club,Goa, Mohammedan Sporting, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, Bangalore, and Indian Bank, Chennai. And on November 29, the AIFF chief announced that the Millennium Cup would be held as per the schedule drawn up earlier. He also announced that India would be fielding a strong team in the tournament in which top outfits like Cameroon, Chile, Uruguay, Columbia, Yugoslavia, Bahrain, Qatar, Iraq, Jordan and several others are expected to participate. However, what Mr Dasmunshi failed to explain was how the team could be strong with the cream of Indian football staying away. Since as many as nine top clubs who constitute the IPFA will not release their players for the Millennium Cup, the Indian challenge might turn out to be the weakest ever, the claims of the AIFF chief notwithstanding. Coming back to the National Football League, it is true that there is no dearth of teams and clubs who are ever ready to play in the league. But the question is will it not be at the cost of quality football? Of the five teams named as stand-bys, three have figured in the league previously. In the last league,both BSF and Dempo were knocked out after having finished at the bottom. Indian Bank also played in the NFL the year before last year but got knocked out after finishing at the bottom in the third edition. It is a well known fact that sponsorships flow only when there is quality. Names like Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Salgaocar, Churchill Brothers, JCT, Tollygunge, and Mahindras have come to represent all that is best in Indian football. It has been due to their participation that big companies like Philips and Coca Cola have been supporting the NFL in a big way financially. In their absence it is difficult to imagine how the All-India Football Federation is going to arrange the sponsorships. After all the football crazy public of Goa, Bengal and Kerala will certainly not like to see second-string teams in the much-publicised NFL. Reduced public interest will mean less mileage for the sponsors who will then be left with no choice but to pull out of the football arena. |
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Teeing-off THE 33-year-old, Mhow-based Mukesh Kumar eventually got into his stride at his favourite course at Noida, where he carded his second win in three appearances. He aggregated six-under 282 to win the title and Rs 1,13,400 in the Rs 7 lakh ONGC-NGC Open Gold Championship recently. Mukesh Kumar was lacking in confidence as his doings this season were not according to his potential. Starting with a birdie on the first and followed by a sea of parred holes, he finished his front nine at one-under in the final round. On his back nine, Mukesh looked unsteady and finished the final day’s score of one-over 73 which was good enough for him to win the much coveted title. Once again putting indifferently, Vijay Kumar was the runner-up with 284 (Rs 78,400). Ranjit Singh, who had led on the first three days, slipped and had to rest content with third position. Shiv Kumar, 287, was fourth. Playing the best tournament of his career. Delhi’s Vinod Kumar tied with Vishal Singh for the fifth position Title retained Mohammad Wazir continued to play consistently. He retained his all-India juniors title with a score of 299, 11 over par. It was not a good card in view of his immense potential but it was satisfying enough as he romped home. Mainav Jaini (Delhi) fought admirably throughout. But he finished a stroke behind the leader at 300. Chandigarh’s Harinder Gupta (303) finished third. In the 13-14 group (category B), Jalandhar’s Jaskirat Duller provided evidence of his promise as he won the title. He was followed by Aditya Singh (Delhi) and Snehil Sood was third. Ganganjit Bhullar (Rail Coach Factory) was the best in the 11-12 (C category) while Surya J. Prakash (Calcutta) was second and Varun Wadhwa third. The performance given by youngsters in the under-10 years category was extremely satisfying. Many juniors hit a long ball and showed concentration in putting and chipping. Amanjyot Singh (Jaipur) was the best followed by Arjun Malhotra and Siddaryh Seth. The response from youngsters was extremely encouraging. Many of them showed that they had modelled their play on sound technique. It was the competition which should have been held with a lot of care and interest and efficiency. But, as in the past, the Indian Gold Union (IGU) seemed casual in organising the competition. It is juniors who deserve to be handled with care so that they blossom into leading golfers. Arjun Atwal impresses “You play very well and you should be able to win one of the Majors”. This is what Severino Ballesteros (Spain), one of the world renowned professionals, told Arjun Atwal in the recently concluded tournament in Hong Kong. Sevy, as he is called, feels that there are quite a few promising players on the Asian Tours. Among Asians, he considers Atwal outstanding. “I played with Atwal for two days and he has good future”, predicted Sevy. In the Star Alliance Open, there was a snake on the long, fifth hole, when Niko Van Rensberg was about to take his shot amidst bushes. Unpredictable Chiranjeev Milkha Singh continues to be unpredictable. He dazzles one day and disappoints the next day. He impressed with his card one day in the Johnnie Walker Classic Tournament at Bangkok. He managed cut only to shoot six over 78 and slip to the joint 60th position. |
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Mixed response to new scoring system “The new scoring system experimented in the recently concluded World Junior Badminton Championships at China had a mixed response, according to Mr S.M. Arif, chief national coach, who was in Chandigarh during the Junior National Badminton Championships. Arif who is based at Hyderabad, has a long-standing experience in badminton coaching and has the distinction of producing players like Gopi Chand and many others. He said the new scoring system as envisaged by International Badminton Federation was also experimented in one of the All-India Sonora ranking meet at Calicut last month. Here both for boys and girls, a game consisted of seven points in a best of five tie. At 6-6, there is deuce and the game is extended to nine points. Arif was of the view that Asian players would certainly benefit from the same as their style of play was best suited to the present arrangement. He said Europeans might not have that advantage as majority of their players believe in long strokes which take more time to have total command in the game. He said at the world junior meet in China, it was observed that attacking players were having an edge over the stroke and defensive players. He advocated that the present system could be allowed to continue. It may be recalled that in February last during the Asian Zone Thomas-Uber Cup tie at Dehi, the secretary of the Asian Badminton Confederation, Mr Punch Gunalan of Malaysia in a interview to this reporter had confided that to attract sponsors and marketing of the game, the scoring in game might be increased to 25 points with break of 90 seconds after every five points for the television commercials. Morever the best of three tie of 25 points each will have rally point system like in table tennis and volleyball where it was recently introduced. But that experiment was yet to be given final nod by the IBF. When asked about his view on the present experimentation, Mr S. Muralidharan of Kerala and chief referee of the junior meet said this scoring will not suit the Indians as they take more time to gear up in a game and by the time they get warmed up, the opponent finishes the game. Mr Muralidharan himself an IBF qualified international umpire said that in the year 1997 at one of the World badminton meets at Jakarta (Indonesia), the nine-point game was also experimented and according to him that system was much better than of seven points. Shruti Kurien, the national junior doubles champion who had also taken part in the world meet at China said that for doubles it was quite suited as the game run on swift lines. But said that in singles, at least 10 points should be there or the prevailing system allowed to continue at least for girls. She quoted that in present scoring, girls have to attain a minimum of 22 points in best of three ties and a maximum of 33 points and in case of deuce in all three games, it was 39 points. But in the new experiment, both the boys and girls will need minimum of 21 points and in case of five games, total of 35 points while during deuce in all, a total of 45 points will be required. For boys it was now minimum of 30 points and in case it gets extended to three games, it was maximum 45 points and for deuce in all, a total of 51 points are needed. |
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Navjot emerges unscathed THE moment Navjot Sidhu’s name surfaced in the weird, veiled world of match-fixing it was thought that the CBI inquiry would become a permanent stain on cricketers’ psyche. Fortunately, for the legendary ‘comeback man’ of Indian cricket, the inquiry failed to establish anything wrong done by him during his career. The inquiry — in which the hunter has become the hunted and the hunted has escaped unscathed — has proved that Navjot’s devotion towards the game he cherished so much has been unquestioned. True, no acts of contrition can suffice, yet let us recall when the issue first surfaced and the very authenticity of Navjot’s heroism was put under scrutiny. Indeed, those were terrible times. One thought that the hero had a great fall, his pedestal had cracked and he had belied fans faith. Ours is a nation where cricketers and filmstars are considered next only to gods, where even a slight shuffle in the batting line up opens up a national debate. And in such a surcharged atmosphere, for both the fan and the fanatic, nothing is more saddenning than the fall of an icon like Navjot from grace. But as events have now proved, Navjot, a cricketer who captured the true essence of the indefatigabel Punjabi spirit, has come out unscathed — rising majestically like the proverbial phoenix from the ashes. The Punjabi community, in the aftermath of the anti-Sikh riots, needed men of stature to provide balm to the wounded psyche. The community needed a hero to be identified with, to be proud of. And with all those adjective defying knocks played in the 1987 World Cup, Navjot filled the bill perfectly. Navjot, the cricketer, had arrived. His mastery over spin became the stuff of which legends are made of and he enjoyed playing “The Terminator” against the finest spin bowlers. The buzz in the corridors of pavilions around the world was that bottle up Navjot, otherwise the attack would be shredded to smithereens. Navjot will go down in history books as a cricketer who patented the comeback formula to near perfection. His comebacks always involved sentiment and melodrama. Not uncommon for a man known to wear his emotions on his sleeves. His sense of patriotism meant a passionate kiss on the Indian crest with every comeback knock. Purity of passion for the game, which he called his ‘puja’ was all pervasive in Navjot’s career. As we slept through the dawn, he used to run around Baradari with weights tied round his ankles. Nothing much for a man who had decided to invest his entire life in cricket. Maybe, it is the end of CBI inquiry as far as Navjot is concerned. But the tax sleuths are still hot on his trial. Navjot has immense responsibility on his broad shoulders. Navjot has been the torch-bearer for young cricketers of Punjab. These days he has become a deeply religious man. Remember when Navjot, seething with anger, turned his back on his country, during the 1996 tour of England. But how time flies, how people change. Nowadays, a visit to his house will reveal the same ‘angry’ man praying with the serenity of a Bhuddhist monk far away from the madding crowd. |
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Zatopek impressed with unique style I was saddened by the demise of eminent athlete Emil Zatopek, nicknamed the ‘Czech locomotive’ who won gold medals at the Helsinki Olympics in 5000 metres, 10000 metres and the marathon in 1952. Later, he won the gold in 10,000 metres and a silver in 5000 metres at the London Olympics. I saw him in action at the National Stadium in New Delhi in 1956. Before emerging winner, he was ahead of a Delhi cop, who was a record holder of Delhi state, by two rounds. I noticed that his style of running was unique. He was accompanied by his wife, who was an Olympic gold medallist in javelin. Unfortunately they had no issue. After the race, he mixed with the crowd.
S.S. JASWAL Reetinder Sodhi The selection committee has ultimately reposed faith in youngster Reetinder Singh Sodhi for the one-day international series against Zimbabwe. It may be recalled that he was the hero of two junior World Cups which India won. In domestic cricket he has an excellent record. In Ranji Trophy besides scoring many centuries, he had also scored a double century against the strong Delhi team. Now it is up to Reetinder to prove his worth. I wish him good luck. PRITPAL SINGH IPFA stand The stand taken by Mr Vijay Mallya, chief of the IPFA, is praiseworthy. The outburst of Mr Dasmunshi clearly indicates his intention of remaining the president of the AIFF. Footballers are happy over this development and wish that real persons should dictate terms and look after the interests of clubs and sportsmen. The formation of the IPFA will definitely improve the standard of Indian football. JAGDISH CHANDER India’s win Kudos to the “home tigers” who roared at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground and India went one up in the two-Test series. John Wright has proved himself to be a successful coach. I extend my heartiest congratulations to the Indian team, especially to Rahul Dravid who scored his first double century in the first innings and a respectable 70 in the second innings. Srinath bowled well and led India to a scintillating win. Keep it up boys! KARAJ S. DHILLON |
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