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| SPORTS TRIBUNE | Saturday, September 13, 2003, Chandigarh, India |
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No Ranji tie at Panchkula again Teeing-off Indian table tennis: an image of sustained mediocrity
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No Ranji tie at Panchkula again
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fleeting look at the cricket stadium in Panchkula’s Sector 3 multipurpose sports complex is enough to convince any sport enthusiast that a modern stadium is in place. Big ground, metalled parking slot big enough to adjust scores of vehicles at a time, lush green ground with not-too-distant hills providing the ideal backdrop are some of the features that are enough to convince one that it has potential to emerge as one of the better stadiums in the state. But when one comes to know that the stadium has lost out on the second opportunity to host a first-class game this year also, one is bound to be overcome by a sense frustration. Mr Ranbir Singh, secretary of the Haryana Cricket Association, visited the stadium last month to ascertain the feasibility of holding a Ranji Trophy match of the season scheduled to get under way soon. After the visit he felt that the stadium lacked certain facilities needed to host a first-class match and decided against hosting a match there. Earlier, a Ranji Trophy match against Maharashtra was scheduled to be held on November 27 last year but had to be shifted out of Panchkula at the eleventh hour because of similar reasons, disclosed Mr Sandeep Moudgil, secretary of the Panchkula District Cricket Association. The cricket buffs, in turn, missed a chance to see the likes of former India players like Hrishikesh Kanitkar and Ajay Ratra in action. The PDCA, Mr Moudgil revealed, wrote to HUDA seeking permission to host the match which was duly granted. The PDCA next wrote a letter to Executive Engineer, HUDA, requesting that certain facilities were needed in order to enable the stadium to host a first class match. The work on setting up the pavilion started. A BCCI technical committee, in the meanwhile, visited the stadium. It pointed out that certain shortcomings in the venue must be removed before a match could be played there. The PDCA was informed by the office of the Executive Engineer, HUDA: “The construction of the cricket pavilion in Sector 3 Panchkula is in full swing. The work, including the shortcomings as pointed out by the technical committee during its visit on October 12, is likely to be completed by November 20.” However, after it received the technical committee report, the BCCI withdrew the permission to host the match. Now, as the domestic cricket season is not far away, a national championship match at the stadium looked a distinct possibility. This time Mr Ranbir Singh decided to have a look at the facilities that existed in the stadium before any decision could be made on the match. After the visit, Mr Ranbir Singh revealed that as the stadium still did not have dressing rooms\dining hall for players nor were there any enclosures for match referees and umpires a first-class game was not possible. He also expressed his dissatisfaction with the glass and steel pavilion erected for players, stating that it lacked privacy as well as security for players. A visit to the cricket stadium in Chaudhary Devi Lal Sports Complex, Sector 3, Panchkula, reveals broken glass at the entrance. In the absence of a store, pitch cover costing nearly Rs 2 lakh could be seen lying in the open in the sun. Grass mower was in a deplorable condition. Absence of a mechanical or a heavy roller means that a proper wicket good enough to last the wear and tear of four days could not be prepared. In fact, the reports say that the current pitch starts breaking up after a couple of hours’ of play. The frames of the sidescreens looked so light raising doubts about their utility in the event of strong wind. Talking to The Tribune, Mr S.K. Malik, Superintending Engineer, Panchkula Circle, HUDA, stated that whatever they had been requested to do had almost been done well within the stipulated time. “At the moment we have no plans to add anything to whatever exists there in the stadium,” he stressed adding that a junior level national meet was organised at the stadium not long back. About the rooms for umpires and the match referee, he said that they were there on the first floor. |
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Teeing-off The Indian amateurs are still struggling to find their form in the Asian golf circuit. Their performance in the recently concluded Asian Pacific Amateur Gold Championship for the Nomura Cup was inconsistent. At Port Douglas (Australia), the team of Vikrant Chopra, Shiv Kapur, Simarjeet Singh and Keshav Misra were off colour more often than it should have been. On the final day, they did play steadily and finished seventh, which did not justify their potential. The Indian players have a lot of talent and promise. But when they play outside their home environments, they often falter and fumble. This proves that they are not mentally attuned for the occasion. Until players are able to adjust their game to varying courses and varying weather conditions, they will not be able to do justice to their promise and potential. There is no dearth of talent in the country. The players, particularly juniors as also women, need much greater exposure than they have been getting. Golf is more in mind than in the 14 clubs comprising irons and woods. For years, the Indian Gulf Union (IGU) has languished because it has been a closed ‘shop’ of a few industrialists. Now there is an awakening among those who have been at the helm of the IGU. The office-bearers will be elected by the general house comprising affiliated clubs and others. This is considered a welcome change and it will certainly render the IGU more democratic in functioning than it has been so far. The IGU needs a dynamic secretary, who is able to make Indian calendar meaningful. There are many sponsors who are willing to promote the cause of amateur golfers. The IGU should take a leaf out of the Professional Golfers Association of India (PGAI) and stage more competitions for amateurs, juniors and women than it has been doing. The more the competitions for players, the sharper will be their mind. Steady nerves are the key to success. The IGU’s affiliates are clubs, which are investing more money and expertise in improving their courses. Many courses throughout the country have been greatly upgraded in the last 5-6 years. Again there is an awakening in this area. This is a healthy sign. In the recent months, not much is heard of the new body, which has affiliated state units. This body is, however, contributing in the IGU doing something for the cause of amateur golf. The stronger the amateur base of golfers, the better will be the standard of professional golfers. Pro circuit The Indian pro circuit is in full swing in southern India where many golfers have announced their arrival. Mukesh Kumar bagged his first title, Hyundai Open, at Chennai. He won the title untroubled as he played consistently carding 69, 66, 65 and 71. He will face stiff challenge from Digvijay Singh, Uttam Singh Mundy and others in the Hindu tournament which will be on the final stage as this piece appears. The Cosmo TNGF course has been greatly improved. The pros are delighted to play on the course which, according to them, is competitive. As many as 110 pros teed-off in the Rs 7 lakh competition. In the competition, there are several young amateurs. In-form B.Gurunath has already shown his promise in winning two competitions in style. His technique and style are modelled on scientific lines. Soon, the circuit will come to the northern part of this country. The Honda-Siel-PGA Tournament will not be staged. It was in the 10th year and its continuation would have provided a greater fillip to the on-going circuit. Maybe, the PGAI and Tiger Sports Marketing will rope in new sponsors to substitute this competition which was handled professionally superbly. The charity one-day fun golf the Daksh-Prayas at the Classic Golf Resort (Gurgaon) was a success but should have been organised with greater verve and enthusiasm to secure greater mileage. |
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Indian table tennis: an image of sustained mediocrity So India will soon be setting up a full-fledged table tennis academy in Hyderabad! It is indeed heartening to know that something is being done to widen the horizon of a game the standard of which has languished, indeed stood virtually standstill, despite considerable attention for nearly half a century. What makes the project more than mere speculation is the fact that is has the blessings of the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr N.Chandrababu Naidu. He is obviously a man who gets things done. The news, coming as it did on the eve of the Asian Junior Championships in Hyderabad, should certainly perk up the spirits of the Indian players seeking to establish themselves in the international sphere. The term academy often gives the impression of something impregnable and contains secrets of success. It is these secrets Indian table tennis has been seeking for a very long time. It is one of the tragedies of Indian table tennis that more often than not it is the same set of players sweating it out for years altogether at the national level, with some of them known to win the title for six or seven years. This sort of thing may speak volumes of the determination of the champion players themselves but is a sad reflection on the standard of the game. The same player winning all the time means stagnation or in other words total lack of progress. That is never good for any sport and table tennis is no exception. In fact barring a few defensive players way back in history India has never placed anyone in the top 100 of the world ranking. It is at once a tragedy and irony since India is one of those countries ever ready to play host to international competitions. And it is because of this hospitality syndrome that India has carved out a niche in the international table tennis market. Thanks to the brilliant pioneer work in administration by Ranga Ramanujam and the continuation of his example by those following him, India is a well-known commodity but only for organizational competence. Certainly not for the standard of its table tennis. Imagine Japan or China, the latter more particularly. In these countries a player wins the national title, nay even the world crown, for a couple of years and then gives place to another person, himself virtually disappearing only to turn up as a coach. Because of the very tight competition in depth, the standard continues to remain very high. In sharp contrast there is a such a vast difference in the standard of players at the top and those aspiring to get to the top, there is very little motion in Indian table tennis. In fact a two-tier system appears to exist, those who are good and those who are not so good. Thus the continuity and hence the stagnation. Not much thought appears to have been given to the lack of depth and hence the stagnation of standard in Indian table tennis. The game has a routine existence with a secretary-general of over 40 decades experience who religiously organizes national and international tournaments with great care and holds major responsible jobs on the Asian and international table tennis arena. But not only has the secretary general but others, too, do appear to have given much thought to the virtually static state in the standard of the game. But at the same time India is forever ready to play host to international competitions. Why this frequently “hosting bug bite” in the absence of any quality at home is a mystery? No one questions the readiness of the federation to host big tournament though a little thought should also be given to the general standard of the game at home. And as for the ongoing show in Hyderabad, there was no need to host the Asian Juniors now and at the same centre as the Afro Asian Games in the same year. No wonder there was money problem. According to a report, the organizers were running form pillar to post to tap adequate sponsors to raise funds for this championship estimated to cost Rs 50 lakh till the last few days. As things stand the only bright spot for the game is the prospect of an academy in Hyderabad. Otherwise, given the sustained mediocrity over the years table tennis in India has all the makings of a discipline ready to be embalmed as a museum piece. |
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Obituary G.S. Ramchand was only 18 when he scored an unbeaten 86 for Sind against Bombay in the 1945-46 Ranji match. Vijay Merchant, then at his brilliant best, appreciated his knock and temperament. About two years later, Partition came about. Ramchand migrated to Mumbai where he tried in vain to secure membership of leading clubs. Even Merchant’s recommendation could not secure him membership. Caught in a difficult situation, Ramchand joined St Xavier’s College. This became his launching pad. He, along with Polly Umrigar, soon donned India’s colours. In the ‘tragic’ 1958-59 series against the West Indies, India had as many as four captains. Umrigar led in the first Test at New Delhi in place of the injured Ghulam Ahmed, who returned to captain the next two before walking out in ‘disgust’. Umrigar was appointed captain for the fourth Test at Madras but refused to lead as selectors failed to comply with his wishes. Vinoo Mankad captained the side and Hemu Adhikari was the captain for the Delhi Test. The selectors were in search of a robust captain. They placed faith in Ramchand when Australia toured India in 1959-60. In the Kanpur Test, Ramchand and his men shocked the Aussies. On a turning wicket, Jashu Patel, with his ‘jerky’ action, played havoc with the Australian batsmen. Ramchand got a lot of credit for handling his bowlers well. But Lala Amarnath, then chairman of selectors, went on record saying that it was he who forced Ramchand to include Patel and made him engage the off-spinner from a particular end. Ramchand expressed his reservations on this particular issue. After retirement, Ramchand was appointed manager of the Indian team at home and outside. But he was not popular with many senior players as he tried to enforce discipline. Ramchand held a senior position in Air-India before retiring. He also had a few postings outside the country. He was a popular figure in Mumbai. He was usually jovial and narrated nippy jokes in his own style. Ramchand (5 ft 10 in) had a short run-in even when he operated with a new ball. His batting stance was typical of Sindhi batsmen — ‘rounched’. This stance saw him revel in pulling and hooking, as his predecessor Kishenchand used to do. He showed his promise when he was a school boy in the W.B. High School (Karachi). —
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Three cheers to Justin for title win History repeated itself when Justin Henin-Hardenne defeated world No 1 Kim Clijsters in the US Open women’s single final. Before this Henin-Hardenne had won the French Open by defeating the same rival. She not only won these two titles in one year but also became world number 1. She defeated Clijsters in straight sets. Clijsters had not lost even a single set before reaching the final of the US Open 2003. Raman Deep Chawla,
Abohar II Three cheers to Belgium beauty Justin Henin-Hardenne for lifting the prestigious US Open trophy, trouncing Kim Clijsters. She became richer by $ 1 million. India’s Sania Mirza was shown the door by a novice Emma, which shows how much more attention, hard work, diligence, determination, talent exploitation, training and concentration is required. H.S. Dimple,
Jagraon Jugraj Singh Indeed Indian hockey suffered a major setback when Jugraj Singh met with an accident near Jalandhar. Today he is the backbone of Indian hockey. Now he has been admitted to a Ludhiana hospital and his treatment is in progress. The Indian Hockey Federation has done a commendable job by coming to his rescue. Jugraj gave a marvellous performance in the recently concluded Champions Trophy. He is only 20 years old and the country badly needs his services. Subhash C. Taneja,
Rohtak Improved B’desh Although Pakistan defeated Bangladesh in a well-contested Test match at Multan, yet Bangladesh displayed vast improvement. What they have done speaks volumes of their hard work and zeal to prove themselves. Throughout the series they played as if they were desperate to prove that grant of Test status to them was not a wrong decision. The coach has done a splendid job in bringing out the best in the players. The day is not far when Bangladesh will pose a strong challenge to the rest of the cricketing world. Rajan Parmar,
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Obituary
