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| SPORTS TRIBUNE | Saturday, August 16, Chandigarh, India |
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Arjuna fiasco was avoidable Labourer’s daughter on path to stardom Teeing-off |
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Arjuna fiasco was avoidable FOR the past few years the issue of Arjuna and other sports awards appears to have got out of hand. This year has been no exception. In fact despite the attempts at transparency and the involvement of former sportspersons at the final decanting process, the whole affair has taken an unprecedented twist leaving more people unhappy than ever before. In the end it was a sad culmination of an otherwise dignified event. Much of the blame has to be shared by the government. It still has not been able to streamline the mode of selection. For that to happen there must first be persons with proper background at the top administrative level, starting from the Sports Minister himself. The rules, regulations and parameters then must be such that there should be no scope for questioning the decisions taken at the recommendation level itself. The federations alone must be held responsible for the choice of candidates forwarded to the selection panel. But then the federations must first cleanse themselves of any hint of favouritism or slight. Given the tremendous political bearing associated within and without the various federations and a near total lack of sports culture at every level in the country it is difficult to expect transparency all the time but there is no harm in hoping that things will improve in the near future. This year one hoped that the selection panel headed by one of India’s most distinguished personalities, Pradeep Banerjee, would be able to deliver the goods without much problems. But that was asking for too much. Banerjee had his opinions and voiced them. He clearly hinted that Saurav Ganguly’s name should have been there as also that of Mahesh Bhupathi. In speaking his thoughts aloud he was being his characteristic self. P.K. Banerjee has never been known to mince words. It would, however, have been better if he could have kept to his thoughts to himself. The other indiscretion committed by the P.K. Banerjee led panel was to introduce liberalisation in such a way that it flouted the government rule. It chose to ignore the limit of 15 for Arjuna Award laid down by the authorities. And it also chose to nominate two
personalities for the Khel Ratna Award instead of one. On the face of it, the selection panel did not do anything wrong. Flooded with recommendations it sifted and sorted out what it thought was the most qualified list of those deserving awards. The last one year or so had been hectic what with the Asian Games and other international events thrown in and it was but natural that there would be more people with performances against their names. Unfortunately the government stuck to its laid down rules and insisted that norms be followed strictly. Typical of the malaise infecting the working of the government in India! As a former sports personality quipped, the “babu mentality” is very difficult to overcome. The net result was that the selection panel had to prune the list and thereby create a situation wherein everyone in position was laid open to criticism. Frankly having shown such guts at the selection stage the P.K. Bannerjee panel should have told the government that it had selected the awardees and would not change its mind. Unfortunately it yielded to government pressure and thereby set an unprecedented example. Because of the obduracy of the government and the swift backpedalling by the selection panel the awards have lost most of the glitter associated with them. Of course most of the sheen is produced by the cash awards. Remove the cash part of the awards, then the entire show will take on a different meaning. In the end one is left feeling that whatever the qualifications of the selection panel there has been quite a bit of miscalculation in the finality given to the Khel Ratna Award. Both Beenamol (athletics) and Anjali Bhagwat (shooting) were deserving candidates but if the government insisted only on one name then the scale should have favoured shooter Anjali Bhagwat. While Beenamol did well at the Asian level, Anjali has won honours at the world level. Finally something about the earlier panel. There was a report in one of the newspapers that Prakash Padukone, the chief of the selection panel before P.K. Banerjee, was unhappy because he was not informed of the change in the selection panel. Prakash Padukone was only unhappy but it was certainly a shock for the world outside. The government had never mentioned anything about the tenure of the selection committee headed by Prakash. Obviously Prakash too was not in the know of it. Hence the hurt feeling. Isn’t there something the government could do in a proper manner? |
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Labourer’s daughter on path to stardom
IT is through sheer hard work and determination that Manjit Kaur (21), the sole medal winner for Punjab in the senior category in the 75th National Wrestling Championship for women this year, has carved out a niche for herself in the sports arena. Her indomitable spirit and struggle against economic constraints sets her apart from the rest. Born in a family of a daily wage earner at Pandori Sidwan village, life has been a struggle for Manjit since childhood. Whether it was getting admission to school or becoming a player it was always an uphill task. Her father, a labourer, passed away some years ago. Manjit has three brothers, one of whom is a granthi. One is a daily wage labourer while the third is a potter. As all her brothers work at different places, she and her mother were left to fend for themselves. Therefore, she started helping her mother who was a domestic help. After completing her matriculation, she had a bleak hope of pursuing higher education. She recalled: “It appeared quite uncertain as the senior secondary school was located at Tarn Taran town, which was 18 km away from my village. However, I decided to join school and paddled 18 km from the village to Tarn Taran daily”. Even then she did not stop helping her mother in work. Besides, she used to harvest wheat and plant paddy every year. It made her tough physically and mentally. Subsequently, her admission to SGAD Government Girls Senior Secondary School at Tarn Taran proved to be a turning point in her life. It was here that she developed interest in wrestling. Initially she started playing football but later took up wrestling. Dedication and hard work became her watchwords. She had to perform arduous exercise. After paddling to school at 7 a.m, daily her morning practice session commenced which lasted two hours. Thereafter from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. she joined her class. Thereafter, following a brief rest she again honed her skill for the next two hours. Success followed soon after. She won her first gold medal in the State Wrestling Championship at Jalandhar in 2000. “That was my first medal in the sport and it gave me encouragement and gave me self-confidence”, she said with a glint in her eyes. During this time her mother decided to move to Amritsar. Both settled down after taking a room on rent. She enlisted at Kartar Singh Wrestling Stadium in Gol Bagh. In the meantime, Mr Brij Bedi, president of Citizens’ Forum came to know about her serious efforts in the face of numerous odds. The forum then adopted Manjit. In 2001 she bagged a silver in the state school championship. She joined the camp at Shilaroo in Himachal Pradesh prior to the Commonwealth Games but unfortunately got hurt. She said she was now making efforts to secure a berth in the senior Indian women’s wrestling team which will take part in the Senior World Championship scheduled to be held in New York in September. |
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Teeing-off SOME highly reputed and respected members, with an enormous background of judiciary and political affairs, are being persuaded to contest elections for the prestigious office of the president of the Delhi Golf Club (DGC). None of them is opposed to becoming the chief of the club for the duration of two years. But there is always a possibility of the defeat in election, no matter how important or influential the member may be. This ticklish apprehension has been standing between them and giving their consent although individuals and groups have been at work for nearly a month. Whatever may be the equations or whoever may be the contestants for the post, the elections this year will be razorsharp because the captain, for the first time, will also be elected by the general committee. For the post of the captain, there are already five candidates, who have expressed their availability. They are: Manjit Singh, Prakash Bhandari, Vineet Virmani, Rattan Malhotra and Johnny Suri. Of these five, Manjit and Bhandari are known golf personalities. Manjit, of Tata, was a renowned golfer, while Bhandari switched from Test cricket to golf. Both are knowledgeable about intricate rules and both are easily available to all. Virmani is a sitting captain, who will naturally like to go through his second term. Malhotra is equally popular but Suri’s reputation has received a setback following his arrest in alleged financial dealings. The captain of the golf club is the chief functionary. He is responsible for the course. He has to sort out the problems that players of varying ages and sizes face. His functions improve considerably if the president is also easily available to all members, no matter whether they are B members or C members or juniors. The Indian Open, the most prestigious tournament in the Indian professional
calendar, will once again be held at the Delhi Golf Club in the second week of March. The course is in a good condition and the club is functioning smoothly. The affairs of the club will further improve if there is complete harmony and understanding between the president and the captain. The invitations to reputed foreign players for participation in the Indian Open have already been sent. The response is expected to be better than last year as this competition, like Hero Honda Masters, keeps on growing in stature and popularity. Sponsors, Shaw Wallace, have pledged to support gold. Mr Pawan Munjal is doing the same as the president of the Professional Golfers Association of India (PGAI) and the Asian PGA. There are, however, some changes in the International Management Group (IMG) golf wing, but the flow of the events will remain unaffected. The Tiger Sports Marketing is on the firm road to expansion as it is joined by Percept Profile Limited. While golf is on the high road to popularity in the country, the 13-member Arjuna selection committee has shown its apathy. It is great that one amateur golfer’s performance has been recognised but achievements of two fine exponents, Jyoti Randhawa and Rohtas Singh, have gone unrewarded. Randhawa’s doings in the year gone by have been simply outstanding, while Rohtas Singh’s contribution in performance and promotion of professional golf has been unparalleled in the history of India golf. The PGAI and the Indian Golf Union (IGU) will have to press their claims for their players. Both Mr Munjal and Mr Raghu Mody must remember that this a strange country where nuisance value is more paying than gentlemanly behaviour. Etiquette may be good in golf but not in this country’s Sports Ministry. |
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Mahindra United deserving winners MAHINDRA United won plaudits by registering their maiden title victory in the Federation Cup Football Tournament. They prevailed over Mohammedan Sporting 1-0 in an exhilarating final to romp home victorious. Although they remained at the receiving end in the first half, yet they managed to keep at bay the marauding rivals who muffed gilt-edged chances. It was S. Venkatesh who scored the all-important goal in the second half sending his side into jubilation. That goal sealed the fate of Mohammedan Sporting who desperately tried to equalize but in vain. On the other hand the jeepmen hung on to their slender lead till the end. The Mohammedans, despite holding an upper hand for most part of the match, were undone by their poor finishing and lack of precision at the rival goalmouth. However, the match was well contested in which both teams dished out an exciting, attacking and vintage soccer. But it is victory that matters and that is what Mahindra United achieved deservedly.
— TARSEM S. BUMRAH,
Batala Sports legends A few nominated members of the Rajya Sabha are retiring this month and in their place, some eminent persons are expected to be nominated. In some countries, sports legends are nominated to the Upper House but in our country, despite the recommendations of the Sarkaria Commission that eminent persons should be nominated Governors, no sports legend has been nominated either as governor or to the Upper House. The term of the present Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi has already expired. “Flying Sikh” Milkha Singh, the Indian hero of the third Asian Games at Tokyo in 1958 and the only Indian athlete who has so far won a gold in athletics in the Commonwealth Games who is held in high esteem can be appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi. —
NARINDER SINGH,
Chandigarh Kunte’s feat Heartiest congratulations to Indian Grandmaster Abhijit Kunte for winning the British Chess Championship. Kunte settled for a draw in the 11th and final round with Grandmaster Joe Gallagher. It was the second successive British championship win for an Indian. Last year, GM RB Ramesh won it. Abhijit Kunte first came into the limelight when he won the Asian Junior Chess Championship six years ago. Since then Kunte is performing very well in the international tournaments. I hope like Viswanathan Anand, Abhijit Kunte also becomes the world chess champion one day. —
RAJDEEP SINGH,
Phagwara Aussie team One of the best teams in cricket, Australia won the 2003 World Cup without much difficulty. The Australian cricketers are no less than commandoes in a battlefield. They never give up. Whenever this team faces a crisis it receives support from gems in the side. Congratulations to Ricky Ponting and his men! —
RISHI JERATH,
Chandigarh Brian Lara West Indies batsman Brian Lara has been dominating the Lankan bowling since 1997. With a wide range of attacking strokes, he has tormented Sri Lanka against whom he has scored a couple of centuries. At the moment he appears unstoppable. Recently he showcased his batting prowess against the mighty Aussies. Carry on, Lara! —
TARSEM S. BUMRAH,
Batala |
