Football needs more support
Ramu Sharma

THIS has been a year of limited success for Indian football. East Bengal of Kolkata won the ASEAN title, being the first club to win outside of the country after a many years while Baichung Bhutia earned recognition at the Asian level along with a few younger players. That is the sum total of achievement but in the context of the generally poor image projected of Indian football in the world outside, even small images like these are usually magnified out of proportion.

It is one of the tragedies of Indian sport that football, easily the most popular game in terms of active public support from the stands, has virtually stood standstill from the mid-70s. And that despite the game and the players given some international exposure starting modestly enough through the Nehru Gold Cup in the country. It is a different matter that the Indians could not match the visiting teams but a start was needed and thus the first step taken. Unfortunately these tournaments in India did not help much. Instead of the players getting a feel of the game as played by outside countries, the competition only exposed to the public, the limitations of Indian football.

The opening of the doors to the foreign players did help considerably in boosting the image of some of the richer clubs and quite a few visiting stars became favourites of the public but the overall standard did not improve. The import of foreign players often meant the eclipse of potential Indian stars, a trend that continued for quite a long time. In fact it still exists though in the past few years players like Bhutia and Vijayan have more than matched some of the material from Africa.

The All-India Football Federation’s move to start a national league on the lines of European League in 1996, one thought would be a breakthrough. In fact the first such league was an outstanding success with the second phase, played on home and away basis, producing some real top class stuff. JCT, Phagwara won the title the inaugural year. But frankly this was about the only year the League had something to offer. After that it became a formality despite minor changes in the format. Nowadays it is merely a question of going through the motions with the standard of the game generally at the mediocre level.

One of the reasons for the continued stalemate in the state of the game has been the none too satisfactory treatment from the visual media. Unlike cricket which gets unstinted support from television, football and for that matter hockey, have to fight for TV time. Doordarshan did try to help but has not really succeeded in showing the matches live all the time. And without support from visual media means less or no money from the corporate sector. In turn it means no cash to run tournaments.

Lack of support from visual media has cost football and hockey considerable amount of money in terms of sponsorship. And this in turn has meant that a number of tournaments have had to close shop. And those tournaments which do continue to exist, do so with the bare amount, unable to pay for big teams from Kolkata and Mumbai and elsewhere. At present, with the possible exception of IFA Shield, Rovers and Durand, all other tournaments are in trouble. The popular DCM Tournament, the tournament which was the first one to bring in foreign teams to India, has not been help for some years now. Sponsorship trouble has stopped a major tournament in Assam while the Lal Bahadur Shastri Tournament in Delhi has met with the same fate. Bangalore has almost given up the Stafford Cup while Andhra Pradesh has virtually no tournaments left. Rovers among the elite tournaments has had problems with sponsors and the Durand Football Tournament too is reportedly beginning to feel the pinch.

With a number of tournaments going out of commission for lack of money there is very little scope for players to show their skill. As it is the limelight in the National League is hogged by visiting stars.

TEEING-OFF
Long-term training key to success
K.R. Wadhwaney

VIRAAT Budhwar, aged less than 10, is highly talented as, according to experts, his swing of the clubs is modelled on scientific lines. He is also keen on the game at this tender age and takes his training and practice seriously. All this speaks well for him.

But should he be sent abroad for training? Some dispassionate golf experts are of the view that Viraat should continue to undergo training here instead of rushing to Italy, Europe of the USA. There is a vast difference in life-style here and abroad. Training in foreign country may not yield the desired results for two reasons. The youngster may not be able to adapt to new environment and life-style in foreign land and the government subsidy of Rs 5 lakh may not sustain him for more than a month or so. Short training does not bring rewards. The long term programme is the only key to success.

The fact of the matter is that there are quite a few eminent coaches in the country. Among them is Nonita Lal Qureshi. She is highly qualified. She has the ability to explain and express and, above all, she is very understanding to handle a kid. Have faith in her or Indian coaches instead of solely depending upon foreign coaches who, even after providing certain concessions, know how to extract their pound of flesh. They are professional in every respect. There are many youngsters who have gone abroad for training and returned disappointed in several other disciplines, including cricket.

Professional golf revolves around money. It is a very tough life. Participation in pro golf abroad is advantageous only when a player makes a ‘cut’. If he fails to make the ‘cut’, he is a huge loser as he bears all his expenses from air fare to lodging and board and transport. Pros, like, Vijay Kumar and Mukesh, who perform so creditably on the Indian circuit, fail to twinkle abroad because they do not possess sufficient money cushion. In foreign countries, money and money alone is the friend of a golfer. If he possesses money support and he plays with the devil-may-care attitude, there lies the ‘rub’ of the game. Money is life-line for a pro golf.

Indian pro golf has taken off in a big way. This is for sure. But corporate bigwigs should invest more in pro golf for better outcome than has been the case now. When their financial health makes satisfactory reading, their self-belief will increase automatically. According to Daniel Chopra, who is now settled abroad, he has been playing well because balance in bank makes a good reading and he is not unduly bothered about expenses.

Soon golf circuit will be in a swing in this part of the country. Almost all the leading pros will be seen in action in major and other tournaments.