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| SPORTS TRIBUNE | Saturday, November 2, 2002, Chandigarh, India |
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Indian football in realm of professionalism Tennis cupboard looks bare FUNDS FOR SPORTS Budding sportsmen curious about drugs |
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Indian football in realm of professionalism From the mid-seventies till recent months, Indian
football appears to have stood at a standstill posture, almost bordering
on stagnation. But things have changed if the recent performances are of
any indication. And there is proof enough that the All-India Football
Federation has finally woken up to the realities of the way the game is
played in the modern world. First it has released the players from the
bonds of the Kolkata Football League. For the first time in the history
of Indian football players "bought" by the big clubs in
Kolkata have been allowed to wear the colours of the states they belong
to for the national championship. This is something the player-donor
states have been asking for a number of years. Not only are the state
teams deprived of their main players but there is also no guarantee that
these export versions would ever get a chance to play for
Bengal. Because of the induction of players outside the state Bengal is
often forced to horde and thereby also wasting talent. Thus because of
the embarrassing riches even top class players sometimes find themselves
warming the bench though if released they would be more than welcome by
their own home states. Thus the step to release them from the Kolkata
Bondage is a major concession and will certainly help boost the standard
of many of the states which used to export its talent to Kolkata. This
is in fact a double boon as it will also mean that Bengal will be able
to give opportunities to many of its own players who would otherwise
never be able to get a look in during the national championships. The
release from the "bond" also means that the Santosh Trophy
would be truly representative instead of being Bengal heavy most of the
times. The other important step taken by the AIFF is to make the
national league completely professional. Mr Priyaranjan Dasmunshi, the
majordomo of Indian football was on television recently, talking about
the professionalism to be introduced in Indian football. And he made it
very clear that while the Kolkata League would continue to be played
along the existing lines with players from outside of the states and a
limited number of foreign stars helping the local boys the teams for the
national league would be wholly and truly all professional. It is an
ambitious plan but requires complete overhaul of the entire system, from
players to playing conditions. What Mr Dasmunshi did not exactly spell
out was the source of the money for the clubs to go totally
professional. The few lakhs of rupees which change hands at the time of
transfers will not be sufficient to bring Indian football to a
professional platform. When one talks about professional football it
means foreign players and that in turn means millions and millions of
rupees. The reason for giving a new face to Indian football has
obviously come following the success of Korea and Japan in recent times.
The two soccer super-powers from Asia were joint hosts to the World Cup
and apart from the excellent organisation they more than made their
presence felt on the field, particularly the South Korean team. These
two countries have worn the professional cloak for nearly a decade if
not more. The results were there for everyone to see. Their entire
outlook to the game has changed, and they have firmly replaced the
oncoming Arab rush on football. And no one can deny that the Arabs have
talent in plenty. India now plans to join the bandwagon in terms of
transforming the game from stalemated mediocrity to international level.
It requires more than just words. It requires a huge amount of money. Mr
Dasmunshi did not spell out the source but obviously that is not his
job. He and the AIFF will certainly help and Mr Vijay Mallaya, the first
industrialist to go in for sponsoring professional teams, is there to
help out with his contribution. And it would be in the interest of the
AIFF and its efforts to modernise the game in the country if it also
roped in the man who revolutionised Punjab football, JCT boss Samir
Thapar. Mr Thapar would be more than willing to do his share. At the
same time the AIFF should study the development of the game in South
Korea and Japan and also that of China which is taking big strides in
the game. And when China takes big strides, it means business. While
talking about professional football one hopes that Mr Dasmunshi knows
what type of surface the game is played in Korea and Japan. Our grounds
will have to be updated and other facilities enhanced to meet the
demands of modern football. All this will take time. But at the moment a
start has been made.
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Tennis cupboard looks bare The debate has once again begun — who after
Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi? This poser has become a constant
teaser following the failure of the Indian players to live up to
expectations in the Asian Games in Busan. Tennis standard in Asia is not
comparable to what prevails in the developed world, yet the fact that
the Indian players, particularly the men, struggled to hold out their
own, in the singles event in particular, was indeed a cause for worry.
What has happened to all those high-brow tennis academies, who charge
a fortune to train the players, and promise to churn out "stars by
the dozens" and the myriad "schemes" initiated by the
All-India Tennis Association (AITA)? India were saved the blushes at
Busan when Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi won the doubles gold and
Mustafa Ghouse and Vishal Uppal lifted the bronze. Rohan Bopanna, the
new kid on the block, and Harsh Mankad, were expected to perform
miracles, but despite their best efforts, they could not figure among
the medals. Is the Indian tennis cup board bare, sans Leander and
Mahesh? Rohan Bopanna begs to differ. "The Asian Games were a
great learning experience. I got to play a whole lot of better ranked
players. The outing has definitely enriched my game. But I could have
played better". Rohan Bopanna made a fleeting appearance in Delhi,
on way to Bangalore from Tashkent, to witness the DSCL Open Tennis
Tournament. He could not participate in the DSCL Open due to his prior
commitment in the Asian Championship at Tashkent, where he ended up as
the runner-up. A title win at the $ 100,000 Asian Championship would
have earned Bopanna an automatic entry into the Australian Open. The
absence of Bopanna, Harsh Mankad and even Vishal Uppal, indeed, robbed
the DSCL Open of a lot of sheen. Bopanna says in his case, things were
beyond control. He had qualified for the final of the Asian
Championship, and couldn’t have skipped the prestigious event to play
in the DSCL Open. Point taken. But what about others? Rohan Bopanna,
of course, seems to be the only player, on the Indian tennis firmament
now, who has it in him to hit the big league. "The Asian Games
were OK. It gave me a lot of confidence; helped me believe in
myself", said the Coorgi. Bopanna gives a lot of credit for the
improvement in his game to "coach" CGK Bhupathi. He trains at
the Bhupathi Village in Bangalore whenever he’s in the Southern
Metropolis. But Bopanna is emphatic in his assertion that he has no
"role models". "I am on my own", he says. He’s no
clone of anybody either, and whatever he has achieved on the court is
due to dint of hardwork, and talent. He felt that he could have done
better in the Asian Championship, but conceded that he lost the final as
"I didn’t play as well as I should have done in the earlier
rounds". But Bopanna said the experience gained from the recent
international exposures has been good. "I have become more
consistent. My returns have improved", he said. The big, booming
serves have been Bopanna’s life line. "My big serves continue to
be my big weapon", he admits. "I think my game has been
improving close to expectation", he noted. But it does not, by any
stretch of imagination, implies that he has "arrived". "I
still have a long way to go", he said modestly, the title clash in
the Asian Championship notwithstanding. Bopanna was also quite guarded
in his reaction about the Davis Cup experience against Australia.
"Whatever decision (non-playing captain) Ramesh Krishnan took, was
in the best interest of the team," he added. |
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FUNDS FOR SPORTS Sports requires investment but in India innovative
methods to collect money for the development of sports are lacking.
Sports schemes are either funded by the government of by the corporate
sector. However, in the United Kingdom Sport England with the mission to
uplift sports and win maximum medals in the 2012 Olympics, can be an
eye-opener. Aiming at building a healthy nation, Sport England offers a
lesson to countries where sports is not a priority area. Chief
Executive of Sport England (SE) David Moffett told this correspondent
that they were able to generate money through lottery. It made an
investment of more than £ 165 million for games and to enhance the
sports facilities. The commonman is happy over the involvement of the
largest agency in revenue generation. Manchester, which hosted the
Commonwealth Games, will have a network of sports facilities and
congenial training environment. Mr Moffett revealed that the investment
had also enhanced the quality of life in Manchester with creation of
more jobs. According to a study, these Games helped secure more than
£600 million investment creating nearly 6000 full time jobs besides
attracting nearly 3 lakh tourists. Mr Moffett said £ 35 million of
lottery funds were spent on world class sports programmes and on
improving the sports environment. He said the concept of raising funds
had received international appreciation. Sport England has spent £ 30
million on running costs with £ 15 million being towards the total
project costs. An added feature of Manchester will be conversion of the
48,000 capacity stadium into a community centre. The stadium will be
available for 100 days per year. Manchester City Football Club will,
however, pay rent based on a percentage of ticket sales. The creation
of infrastructure will also boost the chances of the nation which will
bid for the 2012 Olympics. The Bolton arena with a capacity of 300, is
just 15 miles from Manchester. It got the lion’s share of £11.3
million of the total project cost of £15 million. Apart from indoor
facilities, it has a sports education centre, where sports development
programmes are initiated to boost the morale of sportspersons. The
Chairman of the English Institute of Sport, Mr Steve Cram, was of the
view that those competing now-a-days would reap the benefits of Sport
England’s initiative. He said sports programmes would be made popular
in city schools so that England could become a force to reckon with by
2012. Mr Moffett revealed that there was a plan to move the highly
acclaimed Commonwealth Games track to the National Indoor arena in
Birmingham where the 2003 World Indoor Athletics Championships would be
held. |
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Budding
sportsmen curious about drugs The much- hyped doping test of Sunita Rani in the
recently Asian Games at Busan has left an adverse impact on budding
sportspersons. Young boys and girls have started asking their coaches
about the use and names of drugs which they think can enhance their
performance on the field. It could be a great headache for the sports
authorities to check the menace as there is practically no
infrastructure to conduct dope tests at least at the district level.
Taking a break during a practice session, a young athlete of Amritsar
at Guru Nanak Dev University grounds explained that since the issue
had been widely publicised, they were passionate to know about these
drugs and to use them in forthcoming competitions. All the players of
his age want to know about the names of these drugs and some of them
have even approached local chemists. According to this athlete,
there is tough competition between players these days and everyone
wants to prove better than the rest. Confirming the new trend, a
coach present on the ground said a number of young players had started
coming to them to know about the performance-enhancing drugs. He said
on being rebuked the children stop further discussion on the topic but
in case of leniency, they ask more and more questions. Most of the
coaches are of the view that like in foreign countries the topic
should not be openly discussed as the media hype over the positive
test of Sunita Rani may cause irreparable damage to Indian
sportspersons.
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It was shocking to learn that Sunita Rani was stripped of her medals at the Busan Asian Games after testing positive. Our government must hire the best lawyers to plead her case as was done by the Sri Lankan authorities in the case of Susanthika, who had won a bronze in 200 m at the Sydney Olympics. BANSI RAM, GarhshankerDD disappoints
It is true that DD-1 has disappointed sports lovers all over the country. DD-1 is accepted as an important link between people. But sadly sports events like the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games were ignored while cricket is always on the screen. DD-1 must not ride roughshod on people’s feelings. Village youth can be attracted towards sports other than cricket. My son watched the football World Cup on TV. Later he abandoned his bat and joined his college football team. DD-1 can alone inspire young boys across the country to take up different disciplines. S. KUMAR,
Indian cricket
By taking a winning 2-0 lead over West Indies, the Indians once again showed that they not only play well in one-dayers but also in Test matches. India have won only two series out of 17 prior to the present one, against Windies. Now the Indian team appears well set to take on any team. RAMAN DEEP CHAWLA,
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