The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

It can only happen in India!
Ramu Sharma

Nothing is impossible in sports, certainly in India which is forever willing to play host to international meets but without really making all the preparations for the event. Thus it is but natural that India has a chapter all its own in “Famous Sporting Fiascos” by well known cartoonist and author Stephen Winkworth. The story with the title “Rain Stops Play” reads thus: — “Rain very often holds up play in outdoor sports such as cricket and tennis. But table tennis? Impossible, because the game is played indoors. Nevertheless, a world championship table tennis match was once postponed because of a sudden rainstorm.

“The setting was Calcutta, 1975, in a newly-built stadium at the Eden Park Cricket Ground. Security before the event had been less than stringent and thieves had stolen all the toilets, the plumbing and the lead from the roof. Then there was torrential downpour, and most of it came through the lead-less ceiling. Eventually the rain let up it was decided to go ahead with the first round, but when the opening ceremony finally got under way, the band was missing. The over-zealous thieves had stolen their tickets and they had been refused admission”.

Not very complimentary is it? Winkworth would have certainly had reasons to add the Indian chapter to the “Famous Sporting Fiascos” had he come to Delhi on the occasion of the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships in the second week of April, this year, 26 years after the World Championships in Calcutta.

Two days before the actual start of the competition came this warning in a leading national newspaper”. As though inadequate lighting was not bad enough for Chetan Baboor and S. Raman, teaming mosquitoes made things worse. Coach Manjit Dua had certainly not prepared the players for such an eventuality. The sight of the Indians battling the mosquito menace at the Indira Gandhi Stadium was indeed disturbing. The Indians understandably did not complain. But worse may happen when the overseas participants commence their practice at the venue where the NTPC-sponsored Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships opens.

“Besides the mosquitoes, the stench emanating from the VIP-seating area in the playing half threatens to ruin the ambience of the week-long event if damage control exercise is not taken up on a war-footing. It remains to be seen how the Sports Authority of India swings into action in the next 24 hours.

“For long, Indian sportspersons have suffered, in silence, the apathy of the authorities. One more example was added to the growing list. But will the overseas players put up such appalling conditions? We shall know shortly”.

Two days later not much appeared to have been done to ease the conditions for the players. In fact according to reports, the Table Tennis Federation appeared to be groping for answers even as the problem continued to haunt both the organisers and the players. And as is usual the concerned parties tried to defend themselves by apportioning the blame but as far as the players were concerned, there was no end to the discomfort.

The question now is why did not the TTFI take charge of the stadium earlier and ensure the cleaning and fumigating process was done properly. The Indira Gandhi Stadium, one of the showpieces when constructed for the Asian Games of 1982, has steadily degenerated into a dirty, desolate place, coming alive only during some major functions. The only constant factor associated with the stadium is the mosquitoes and the stench from the unclean bathrooms. And the TTFI which has conducted quite a few internationals at this venue should have known what to expect.

Mr Mool Chand Chauhan who has entered his third decade as Secretary-General of the TTFI and has attended any number of international tournaments has no business whatsoever to make excuses for the pathetic state of things at the venue. He and the entire set of office-bearers of the federation should offer an unconditional apology to the participants, both Indian and foreign, for subjecting them to the primitive conditions of the stadium. He and the whole lot of the people running the TTFI should resign and submit to an inquiry for bringing the country’s name into disrepute. There is absolutely no excuse for the state of affairs prevailing at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium during the competition.

India is generally considered a backward country where dirt, filth, poverty and indiscipline is the rule rather than the exception. And there is nothing that one can say or do which will change the opinion after the way the TTFI proceeded to organise the Commonwealth Championships in Delhi. Mosquitoes and stench has been a permanent part of the Indira Gandhi Stadium. Chauhan and company knew about it but still reacted late and then started apportioning blame.

The SAI is of course responsible for the upkeep and the organisation needs to be pulled up too. But what excuse can India provide to the players who have come for the championships? They are not interested in whose fault it is. They will only blame India and its lack of awareness about organisation and cleanliness. An indoor stadium leaking during a cloudburst is one thing but a continuing mosquito menace to add to stinking bathrooms certainly not acceptable.

But like on many previous occasions the fiasco at the Commonwealth TT championships will be forgotten till the TTFI offers to host another such competition. It is a vicious circle with nobody learning anything. Only recently the Australian media and cricketers made pointed reference to the lack of organisation in many of the centres and as if to prove their point the police in Goa is investigating into alleged sale of some 25,000 fake tickets during the fifth and last one-day match. But Goa and other venues under a cloud will continue to host one-day matches without making any improvements. No one in authority is worried whether there are sufficient urinals at the selected venues of whether any such thing as public convenience exist.

Lack of proper conditions and the right atmosphere during international competitions in India necessarily claim media attention. But one remembers many such instances during national meets where the players and public have been denied basic facilities. In the past the players, in disciplines other than cricket and tennis (golf and polo are different ball games) have often been given a raw deal. The federations have not always been aware of the basic necessities required. During Mr Ranga Ramanujam’s days things were better for the TT player and the media too.

Mr Fazil Ahmed, the man who was guide and mentor of badminton, also devoted special attention in this area. But it is not so in most other disciplines. Athletes have been the worst sufferers particularly during national meets since this is a discipline associated with the less affluent.

It is time that the Indian Olympic Association step in to formulate guidelines, laying down the minimum conditions for participants, spectators and media during national and international competitions.

In fact it would be advisable on the part of IOA to nominate an observer to oversee the conditions made available before the start of any major competition, national or international. Such a step could perhaps have prevented the disgrace brought upon the country by the organisers of the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships in Delhi.

Saeed joins 8000-run club
S. Pervez Qaiser

Saeed Anwar became the first Pakistani and sixth batsman in one-day internationals to complete 8000 runs. He achieved this feat during his 88-run knock in the fourth match of the Ary Gold Cup against Sri Lanka at Sharjah on April 13, 2001. It was the 218th innings of his 221st one-day international match.

THE 8000-RUN CLUB
Batsman	M	I	N.O	Runs	AVG.	H.S	100	50	0	8000th
Sachin Tendulkar(Ind)	268	261	22	10179	42.58	186*	28	51	12	217th
Mohammed Azharuddin(Ind)	334	308	54	9397	36.93	153	7	58	9	278th
Desmond Haynes(W.I.)	238	237	28	8649	41.38	152	17	57	13	220th
Aravinda de Silva(S.L.)	275	266	26	8430	35.12	145	11	57	13	254th
Mark Waugh(Aus)	232	225	19	8245	40.02	173	18	49	13	230th
Saeed Anwar(Pak)	222	219	17	8024	39.72	194	19	39	13	218th

SAEED ANWAR’S BATTING PERFORMANCE
Opponent	M	I	N.O	Runs	AVG.	H.S	100	50	0
Australia	22	22	1	508	24.19	104*	1	—	2
Bangladesh	6	6	1	285	57.00	90	—	3	—
England	8	8	—	358	44.75	71	—	4	—
India	49	47	2	1901	42.24	194	3	8	2
Kenya	1	1	—	27	27.00	27	—	—	—
Holland	1	1	1	83	—	83*	—	1	—
New Zealand	32	32	4	1260	45.00	113*	4	7	2
South Africa	23	23	1	375	17.04	42	—	—	3
Scotland	1	1	—	6	6.00	6	—	—	—
Sri Lanka	47	47	3	2009	45.65	126	7	10	3
U.A.E.	2	2	1	79	79.00	40*	—	—	—
West Indies	17	16	1	534	35.60	131	2	2	—
Zimbabwe	13	13	2	599	54.45	103*	2	3	1
Total	222	219	17	8024	39.72	194	19	38	13
In Pakistan	42	40	6	1597	46.97	108*	3	8	2
Outside Pakistan	180	179	11	6427	38.25	194	16	30	11

The left-hand opening batsman who made his international debut against the West Indies at Perth on January 1, 1989, took 11 years and 103 days to achieve this feat. He is the second youngest after Sachin Tendulkar to cross the 8000-run mark in the shorter version of the game.

The first batsman to complete 8000 runs in one-day internationals was West Indian Desmond Haynes. Haynes achieved this landmark in the 219th innings of his 220th match against Pakistan at Johannesburg on February 27, 1997. Haynes was 37 years and 12 days old when he completed his 8000 runs. He took 15 years and six days to reach this milestone.

Former Indian captain Mohammed Azharuddin was the second player to attain this distinction. Azharuddin completed his 8000 runs in the 257th innings of his 278th match against Australia in Delhi on April 14, 1998. Azharuddin was 35 years and 65 days old when he reached this milestone. He took 13 years and 85 days to complete his 8000 runs.

Sri Lankan middle order batsman Aravinda de Silva was the third batsman in the history of one-day internationals to complete 8000 runs. He achieved this milestone during his 55- run knock in the fifth match of the Pepsi Cup against India at Pune on March 31, 1999. It was the 247th innings of his 254th one-day international match.

At 33 years and 165 days, Aravinda de Silva is the third youngest player to reach this milestone. He took 14 years and 364 days to complete his 8000 runs.

Indian little master Sachin Tendulkar who holds the record of highest number of runs in one dayers — 10179 runs in 268 matches — was the fourth player to attain this distinction. Sachin completed his 8000 runs in the 210th innings of his 217th match against Pakistan at Manchester on June 8 in the 1999 World Cup. At 26 years and 46 days he is the youngest to reach this milestone.

Australian opening batsman Mark Waugh became the fifth batsman in the history of one-day internationals to complete 8000 runds. He achieved this milestone during his 173-run knock in the second final of the Carlton Series against the West Indies at Melbourne on February 9, 2001. It was the 223rd innings of his 230th one-day international match.

At 35 years and 252 days, Mark Waugh is the fourth youngest player to score 8000 runs. He took 12 years and 60 days to achieve this milestone.

Stage set for night football
Amardeep Bhattal

Football matches under floodlights in Ludhiana ? Seems incredible, but with the Punjab Sports Department having assumed responsibility for making the Guru Nanak Stadium floodlit, the dream of soccer lovers may soon become a reality. Work on installation of floodlights at the stadium, which incidentally will be the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies of the forthcoming National Games, is almost complete. The task was entrusted to Philips last year which, with assistance from the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation, has already erected four towers in the corners within the stadium. The total cost of the project is almost Rs 1.75 crore. The stadium will be the first of its kind in north India to offer night football facilities.

According to Col Raminder Singh, Director Sports, the athletics track is also being relaid and the work is expected to be completed by June 30. The track material has finally reached Ludhiana after being held up at the Mumbai port for over four months. German experts have also arrived for supervising the work. The synthetic material was held up at the Mumbai port as the Customs Department was adamant on charging a whopping sum as excise duty. However, on intervention of the Sports Ministry and execution of a bond, the consignment was finally released.

Since Guru Nanak Stadium will be the venue for many events during the National Games, the entire complex is being given a facelift. An amount of Rs 1 crore has been spent on upgrading facilities for basketball and volleyball. The indoor hall with new basketball courts will also be floodlit and a sum of Rs 65 lakh is being spent on the project. In conformity with international standards, small halls have been added for training purposes.

Once the athletics track is laid, the floodlights will be tested for shadow effects. “We want to ensure that the effect of floodlights is not an impediment to sports activities, including football and track and field events,” said Col Raminder Singh while talking to The Tribune. “Only after expert opinion will we release them from the contract,” he added.

Why not reward coaches too
Gursharan Singh

A national newspaper published a coloured photograph of All-England champion Gopichand in which he is surrounded by his well wishers, politicians and others but his coach is seen nowhere.

Gopichand is honoured by the Government of Andhra Pradesh at a function held at Andhra Bhavan but can his coach be seen sitting in any corner of the dais? No. In India the people think that a coach is only for training and has no business to be where his trainee is being felicitated for his success. This is even more so in badminton. It is regrettable that Prasada Ganguly, the coach of badminton star Gopichand, after he won the All-England title, was completely ignored at the function held at Andhra Bhavan.

This is true not only for Prasada — he just represents a whole body of coaches who work day in and day out. So that their trainees can perform well in domestic and international circuits — as the coaches ‘visibility’ is limited only to training halls, competitive matches or running tracks.

Coaches are only remembered when the player or the team performs below expectations. These expectations generally are of those who have no knowledge of the game and do not have any idea about the type of players selected and their capabilities. The coach has no role when his trainee or the team wins but has all the responsibility when the same team or the trainee fails to bring home a trophy?

Ever heard of Arif Khan? Perhaps not. He is the national badminton coach and the one who worked hard with Gopichand during his formative years, teaching him the basics of the game at Hyderabad. Arif was deeply involved with Gopi’s game and closely monitored his progress through the years. But when Gopichand was being felicitated no one even mentioned his name.

D.K. Mukherjee, affectionately called D.K. by his admirers, coached Kanwal Thakur Singh of Chandigarh and had an important role to play in her achievements. In an article, he compared the role of coaches to background musicians. As a coach, DK is a disillusioned man today.

A layman or a spectator cannot understand the role a coach plays in training a player. The coach is there with his boys and girls in the mornings and evenings, come winter, summer, rains or holidays. He travels with the team, is lowly said and knows that in most cases his efforts are not going to be recognised. But he is the man behind the making of a player. He is ‘married’ to the game he loves and generally nothing else matters to him.

A coach not only needs to be paid well but also be recognised for the effort he makes. There is an urgent need that a part of the fee which a player receives should be kept aside or some other incentive is given to the coaches. And if his trainee performs well his services should not be ignored for he is the one who has taken the maximum load.

Kudos to CISF for Beighton win

Hats off to Central Industrial Security Force for lifting the prestigious Beighton Cup. CISF dethroned last year’s winners BSF 1-0 and the credit goes to defender Irfan Ahmed. While CISF becomes richer by Rs 1 lakh, BSF walked away with half the amount. By winning the oldest hockey cup, CISF, who played for the first time in the finals, and pipped four-times title holders, proved that through team spirit and hard work anything can be achieved.

H.S. DIMPLE, Jagraon

Unfulfilled dream

Finally Steve Waugh is back in Australia with an unfulfilled dream of beating India in India and that might have shattered many Australian dreams in the dressing room as well as many Australian fans. Only the South African cricket team have beaten India in India (2000) in the last 13 years and also they have beaten West Indies in West Indies 2-0 in the current series. At the same time, Steve Waugh lost not only Test series in India but also failed to beat West Indies in West Indies in 1999 and that does not leave South Africa far behind Australia. Moreover, Australia lost to Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka immediately after the World Cup in 1999 while South Africa drew 1-1 in 2000 in Sri Lanka. Both Australia and South Africa won 10 consecutive one-day internationals recently. Winning 16 Tests successfully is obviously a tremendous record and this places Australia slightly above South Africa but they have always relied on individual performances. South Africa tour to Australia later this year promises much for the cricketing fans all over the world.

VINISH GARG, Baltana

Windies’ decision

West Indies’ decision to provide South Africa a spinning track in the fourth Test hoping to level the series boomeranged. They lost not only the match by 82 runs but also the series as the Proteas took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the 5-match series with only one Test remaining to be played. Their strategy to deploy two fast bowlers along with two spinners, a ploy unheard of in the history of West Indian cricket, cost them dear.

TARSEM S. BUMRAH, Batala

Listen, Harbhajan

Harbhajan Singh, the new star on the cricket horizon, has rightly appreciated and thanked The Tribune for highlighting his achievements. In my own humble way, besides showering my blessings (I am 70 plus) on Harbhajan I would like to give him some personal advice. The foremost is that Harbhajan should never let success go to his head. He should remain humble, courteous and polite to all. He will learn to control his anger and remain cool even in the face of provocations on and off field. For this, I believe, there are appropriate yoga exercises also. Learning is a continuous process. Harbhajan will do well to remain in touch with spin greats like Prasana, Bedi and Kumble. Lastly Harbhajan must spare some time to get coaching in English conversation.

D.B. SINGH, Chandigarh