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| SPORTS TRIBUNE | Saturday, September 27, 2003, Chandigarh, India |
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Political definitions in cricket ‘Pandavas’ of Indian hockey Tough contest among archers |
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Political definitions in cricket IN the half century plus years it has been functioning as an independent entity, the most common words in the Indian political dictionary have been nepotism, parochialism, majoritarian regionalism, and other ornamental endearments. But then everything is accepted in politics. It would not be politics if these literary endowments were not in use. The world of sport, however, has generally been free from such enlightening pearls though there have been times some such terms had been applied to selections in hockey and cricket. But then times have changed and hockey is no longer considered a monopoly of Punjab and cricket that of Mumbai, though perhaps sometimes the old thought process is given expression by sheer force of habit. Maybe on occasions there are grounds for grievances of such nature to surface. These should be treated as honest criticism and an effort to rectify the mistakes must be made. In this context the recent outburst of Nari Contractor against Sunil Gavakar and Brijesh Patel and his reference to the selection of their sons for various outings would have had all the bearings nepotism, if there was any vestige of proof. As one of India’s most popular captains of the 60s Nari Contractor should understand that whatever he says would be given due consideration. The seriousness lies in the importance of the man who has pointed a finger and that is why one should earnestly evaluate his charges of Gavaskar and Patel favouring their sons. One would have perhaps taken the charges more seriously if they had been made at the time of the selection of the India A team to England earlier in the summer. Contractor has, it is reported, cast aspersions on the naming of Rohan Gavaskar in the team. It is not known whether he objected to Rohan going to England because he was selected on the basis of being his father’s son or that his standing in the national cricket scene was not good enough. Frankly it must be said that Contractor perhaps has not been properly informed about Rohan Gavaskar’s performances in domestic cricket or that he was captain of Bengal Ranji Trophy team. He would not have said anything if he had been in the know of all the facts. Rohan Gavaskar may not make the highest grade in India cricket but he certainly has the wherewithal to represent India A and there is the added weight of him having been a very successful member of the touring party. Even Contractor would not want to penalise a son merely because of his father. Similarly his criticism against the selection of Brijesh Patel’s son, Udit, for a stint in the Gavaskar-Border Scholarship programme in Australia. Udit has been considered good enough for selection on his personal showing and not because he is the son of a former cricketer. By reportedly linking criticism of these selections to his removal from his job as chief Talent Resources Development Officer (TRDO) West Zone, Contractor perhaps has overreacted. He may have a genuine grouse and there could be, as he alleges, something personal in his being sacked from the job, but surely he could have sought justice without bringing into picture the sons of Brijesh Patel and Sunil Gavaskar. The BCCI could perhaps step in and clear the air. This sort of publicity about warring veterans and aspersions on the merits of children does not make very good reading. At the same time the board should utilise this incident as an opportunity to rethink on the regional representational in the selection committee. It is time to have a national selection committee in every respect instead of ensuring that every region was represented. It sends out wrong signals. |
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‘Pandavas’ of Indian hockey
VASUDEVAN Baskaran, former Olympian, captain and coach of the national team during the Sydney Olympics in 2000 as
also during the India-Pakistan Test series in 1998 and 1999, is a familiar name in Indian hockey. Baskaran's role in the 1980 Moscow Olympics where India won the gold revives memories of the period of resurgence in the game. However, what many people do not know is that playing hockey and coaching youngsters is a tradition in the former Olympian's family. All five brothers, namely Prabhakaran, Rajasekaran, Baskaran, Jayasekaran, and Vasikaran played hockey and attained recognition at different levels. Hence they were called five 'Pandavas' of Indian hockey. However, Baskaran outshone the other four after representing India in the Olympics. Their father, Vasudevan, was a state-level athlete who died in 1976. Prabhakaran, the eldest of the five brothers now working with the State Bank of India at Chennai, represented India in different hockey Test
matches. Prabhakaran also played for Tamil Nadu and South Zone as a centre-forward. He was also coach of the Tamil Nadu team for some time. Last year he was a junior India selector. Rajasekaran, currently posted as Deputy COS with IRTS at Chennai, was a contemporary of former India captain Ajit Pal Singh. He also represented India in various Test matches and attended as many as 23 camps. Playing as centre-half, the position held by Ajit Pal, he failed to make it big due to stiff competition from the former India skipper. Baskaran, currently working as Senior Sports Officer with Southern Railway, achieved what his brothers could not despite sincere efforts. The crowning glory came in the 1980 Moscow Olympics where Baskaran led India to the gold medal victory after several countries boycotted the
Games following the Russian invasion in Afghanistan. Jayasekaran, working as Office Superintendent, is also the current coach of the Southern Railway hockey team. He is an NIS-qualified coach who also cleared the FIH coach's course in Kuala Lumpur. From 1995 to 1998 he was the men's and women's coach of Sri Lanka. Last year he took the Sri Lankan team to Hong Kong for the Asia Cup qualifying tournament and incidentally Sri Lanka qualified for the meet but due to lack of funds the team was not fielded in the tournament. He was also coach of the Sri Lankan team during the 1995 SAF Games held at Chennai where Lanka lost to India 0-2 whereas Pakistan lost to India 2-6. It was sheer coincidence that the two brothers, Baskaran and Jayasekaran, met at Singapore in 1997 as coaches of India and Sri Lanka respectively, in the junior World Cup qualifying tournament. Out of 11 teams, India finished runners-up while Sri Lanka were placed seventh. As a player, Jayasekaran represented India in various Test matches against Holland, France, and Poland but due to the presence of stalwarts like Surjit Singh and Baldev Singh he did not get a chance to play in the World Cup or Olympics. Nevertheless, he represented Tamil Nadu continuously for 12 years in the nationals from 1973 to 1986. Vasikaran, the youngest who is also working in Southern Railway, played for Tamil Nadu in the nationals for six years from 1975 to 1980. He was a half-back. Of the five brothers, Prabhakaran, Rajasekaran, Baskaran and Jayasekaranhave the unique distinction of playing against Holland during the era of the legendary Paul Litjens. WHAT AILS INDIAN HOCKEY: "The Indian Hockey Federation should ensure that the National Hockey Championship is held every year without fail. The last time that the nationals were held were at Jammu in 2000. Competitions at the senior, junior and subjunior levels should be a regular feature." Echoing these feelings, Vasudevan Jayasekaran, former coach of Sri Lanka and the current coach of Southern Railway, who was in Chandigarh recently for the 33rd All-India Gurmit Memorial Hockey Tournament, said the only way to identify new talent was through regular competitions. For years together, the Indian Hockey Federation, which otherwise is doing a good job, has been persisting with the same set of players. New players will come into the limelight during competitions like the nationals and hence the Inter-State Hockey Championship must become a regular feature. The National Hockey League idea is also worth giving a thought, said Jayasekaran. " If hockey is to prosper, every state must have at least two Astro-Turfs," he said. Referring to India's performance in the 25th Champions Trophy, the coach said "losing ball possession was among the major drawbacks. We should also concentrate on improving our skill," he added. |
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Tough contest among archers
TOUGH competition lies ahead for the top four women Indian archers Dola Banerjee, Reena Kumari, Chekrovolu Swauro and Bhagyabati Chanu, after India qualified for the Olympics after an impressive performance in the World Outdoor Archery Championship in the USA. It will be the first time that the Indian team will participate in the Olympics. In the Olympics a three-member team is required. These three archers will be chosen on the basis of the performance of each player in the eight ranking tournaments to be held in the country. The sixth Senior Ranking Archery Tournament scheduled to be held here from September 24 to 25 is one of them. Dola Banerjee is well known in women’s archery. She represents Jharkhand. She took to archery at the tender age of ten. She won the first gold in the 1993 Subjunior National Archery Championship. Later she won four consecutive gold medals in the Junior National Archery Championship from 1994 to 1997. She remained the champion in the Senior National Archery Championship from 1999 to 2001. In 2002 she bagged the gold in the National Games. In international events, she got two bronze medals in the Asian Circuit Meet in 1999 and 2000. She acquired the 33rd ranking in the World Archery Championship in 2001. She is preparing for the Asian Archery Championship scheduled to be held in Myanmar in October. Reena Kumari (19) is another promising archer from Jharkhand. She bagged the first gold in the 1999 Subjunior National Championship. “It gave a tremendous boost to my morale and my family also started encouraging me”, says Reena. In the year 2000 she won the gold in the Junior National Championship and bronze in the Asian circuit meet. Taking note of her performance, in a short span, she was sent for one month’s training to Germany by the Tata Archery Academy. About the difference between Indian and German coaching methods she said. “There coaches lay stress on mental toughness”. Her career came to halt for at least a year after winning the gold in the Asian Circuit Meet in 2000. Financial constraints forced her to sit outside as she was not able to buy a bow, which costs over Rs 80,000. Her college authorities promised her to give one provided she won a medal in the inter-university championship. At that moment her coach Vijay Singh, an engineer by profession, came to her help. He gave her, his bow. She clinched the silver in the 2002 inter-university Archery Championship. Chekrovolu Swura of Nagaland is another good archer. She is the youngest sister of international archer Vesuzolu. She broke two national records and won four gold in the National Games in 1999. In her first international tourney she bagged a silver at Bangkok (Asian Circuit Meet). Bhagyabati Chanu of Manipur has been performing well for the past few years. She won a gold in her first appearance in the Subjunior National Archery Championship. In 1999 in the Junior National Archery Championship she won the gold again. She won the silver in the National Games. This year she took part in the European Grand Prix at Paris. |
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Sriram, Rohan deserve berths in Indian cricket team INDIA ‘A’ won the TVS Salve Challenger Trophy by crushing India ‘B’ in the finals. India ‘B’ with Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh and Dinesh Mongia were unbeaten and in good form before the final. Both India ‘A’ and India ‘B’ played international-level one-day cricket and kept India seniors away from the final. Some newcomers like S.
Sriram, Rohan Gavaskar and L. Balaji showed their zest and capability to play one-day cricket and should be considered for inclusion in India’s ODI squad.
RAMAN DEEP CHAWLA,
Abohar Cricket ties It is heartening to know that India-Pakistan cricket ties are likely to resume soon. When we have resumed diplomatic ties why not cricket? In the last World Cup held in South Africa, India played against Pakistan. Sports should be delinked from politics. Y.L. CHOPRA, Bathinda Asia Cup Once again attention is focussed on the Asia Cup hockey being held in Malaysia. After a long gap the Indian hockey team has got an opportunity to prove its mettle in Asia where they were once the undisputed champions. After a dismal performance in the recently concluded Champions Trophy where India finished fourth after losing to Pakistan they have an opportunity not only to defeat them but also to bring hockey back to the centrestage. Once again the task is going to be tough as India will be without penalty corner expert Jugraj Singh who was hospitalised after an accident. But not to mention charismatic players like skipper Dhanraj Pillay, Gagan Ajit Singh, Dilip Tirkey and Devesh Chauhan India still have a chance to perform and win the Asian championship. Indian sports lovers are anxiously looking forward to an Indian victory. VIKRAM CHAUDHARY, Chandigarh Hockey team Our hockey team failed to break the jinx, after suffering defeat at the hands of Holland in the Champions Trophy. In fact our team was no match to the sturdy Europeans who are very accurate in passing stopping, trapping and tackling. Our players play a selfish game and allow enough space to the opponents to strike. D.R. SHARDA, Chandigarh |
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