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Over to the eves
Shahbad
Markanda, a township in Kurukshetra district, is regarded as the “Sansarpur of women’s hockey”. No wonder, as many as seven girls from this place are part of the 18-member Indian squad for the World Cup beginning in Madrid on September 27. These players are Suman Bala (full-back), Joydeep Kaur, Gagandeep Kaur and Rajwinder Kaur (midfielders), Surinder Kaur, Jasjeet Kaur and Ritu Rani (forwards). The most experienced of these girls is 24-year-old Surinder, who has played 87 matches so far. It was her goal against New Zealand that put India in the Melbourne Commonwealth Games final earlier this year. India lost to Australia in the summit clash to settle for the silver. While Joydeep, Gagandeep and Ritu are relative newcomers, Jasjeet has become an integral part of the squad at the age of 19. She burst onto the scene in 2004 by scoring the match-winner against Japan in the Asia Cup final in New Delhi, giving India their first title victory in the continental tournament. Her cousin sister Rajwinder is no mean player herself. The performance of these girls has gladdened their coach Baldev Singh, a veteran hockey player. Baldev has trained them at the Sri Guru Nanak Dev Pritam School in Shahbad. He is hopeful that his proteges would help the Indian team put up a good show in the World Cup. Fifteen-year-old Ritu Rani can emerge as a lethal scorer, says Baldev, who is also the Deputy Director, Sports, Haryana. However, the coach is disappointed that talented goalkeeper Rajni Bala, who was part of the Commonwealth Games team, has been omitted from the World Cup squad. Baldev is all praise for the president of the Haryana Women’s Hockey Association, Mrs Krishna Sampat Singh, for encouraging the girls from a humble background to make it to the international stage. The team:
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A top-six finish in the hockey World Cup — can the women succeed where the men failed miserably? The eves have done enough in the past few years to inspire hope. It all boils down to clicking at the highest level. India’s other pool rivals are five-time world champions Netherlands, Germany, hosts Spain and England (Pool B comprises defending champions Argentina, Australia, Japan, South Korea, South Africa and USA). India face an uphill task against the European teams. The Dutch had routed them 5-0 in the 1998 Utrecht World Cup, where the Indians ended up with the wooden spoon. This time, India must get past the “beatable” sides — China and England — to figure in the 5th-8th place playoffs. It doesn’t seem likely that they can equal their best show in the World Cup, the fourth-place finish in Mandelieu (France) back in 1974. The team is led by its most-capped player (165), 28-year-old Jyoti Sunita Kullu, who played in the 1998 World Cup. She was the leading scorer with five goals in the 2002 Champions Challenge tournament in South Africa. Despite her best efforts, India failed to qualify for the World Cup in Perth that year. Another key player is goalkeeper Helen Mary Innocent, whose crucial saves in the 2003 Afro-Asian Games final against South Africa brought India the gold medal. Capped 151 times, Helen is tough to beat even at 29. Then there are experienced strikers like Mamta Kharab — whose golden goal against England won India the 2002 Commonwealth Games gold — and Sanggai Chanu, besides dynamic young forwards Surinder Kaur and Jasjeet Kaur. With seasoned coach M.K. Kaushik in charge, the women have it in them to do better than the men. An inspired show would give crestfallen hockey fans something to cheer about.
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IN THE NEWS Germany retained the hockey World Cup thanks to the individual brilliance of its players, particularly Christopher Zeller, who scored seven goals.
The powerfully built Zeller imposed so much authority on the opposition defenders that they became weak-kneed on seeing him charging at them all alone. So confident was Zeller of his abilities that he single-handedly got past the rival defence and either scored or earned a penalty corner. His second goal against Australia in the final was spectacular. He plucked the ball out of nowhere and before the Aussies could do anything about it, the 21-year-old scored a breathtaking goal which proved to be the match-winner. Zeller started the tournament in style — carrying his top form from the Champions Trophy — by scoring two goals against India. Both teams were on equal terms till the dying minutes of the match, when Zeller muscled his way through the hapless Indian defence and slammed in his second goal. India never regained their confidence after this heart-breaking strike by Zeller and finished 11th in the tournament. For his efforts, Zeller deserved the player of the tournament award — which went to Jamie Dwyer of Australia — but he had to be content with the young player of the tournament award. The precocious German also guided his team to the Champions Trophy final earlier this year, where they lost to the Netherlands. With the European Championships, the Champions Trophy and the 2008 Olympics being the major tournaments over the next two years, Germany’s opponents have their work cut out. They must find ways of stopping Zeller. Marking him alone will be a headache because one man won’t be sufficient to keep him at bay.
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All set for the Raid The Raid de Himalaya has had
seven very successful runs. Competitors and officials are all set for the eighth edition.
The Raid has established itself as the longest and toughest motoring event in the country. Scrutiny of the vehicles will be done on September 28 and 29. There are 29 cars and Gypsies in the Xtreme category, 38 in the Reliability category and 32 in the motorbike section. The flagoff is from Peterhoff Hotel in Shimla and the first competitive stage is from Baldhian to Narel. Short, all gravel, uphill and fast, this stage will set the pace for the rest of the race. The next stage is via Narkanda, Bagi, Sungri to Badrash. The last two stages are from Lahri to Kandagai. Both stages are fast and uphill and then it is a transport over the Jalori Pass to Manali for the overnight halt. It will be almost 400 km on the first day. Leg II (October 1) will be from Manali to Kaza. This 250 km stretch will be an introduction to the Himalayas for the first-timers. It will also be an introduction to crossing the fabled Himalayan passes. The competitive stage will be about 104 km from Gramphoo to Losar to Pangmo. Pangmo to Kaza is a transport of 30 smooth km of tarmac. The night halt will be at Kaza. Leg III (October 2) has been included for those with a religious bent of mind. The competitors will visit two monasteries this day. The next stage will be from Kaza to Thangyud Gompa at Komik. There is a regroup at the Gompa because the road is a dead end and so one has to wait for the last car to arrive before the first car can start back. Enough time for a cup of tea and to say your prayers. Then a transport back to Lingti. Then another Gompa, Dhankar, one of the oldest monastery in the country. It is an uphill gravel stage, fast, hair-raising but bald men can enjoy it too. “Short straights and hellish hair-pins” is how the organiser describe this stage. In case you missed the fun first time round, this stage is repeated. The last stage is from Lidang to Demul. Another dead end — so one has to wait for the last car. Again a quote from the organisers (read Vijay Parmar), “Survivors will return to Kaza for the night.” Leg IV (October 3) is 200 km of competitive stages. It includes crossing two of the great Himalayan passes. Kunzam La in on the way to Gramphoo, from Gramphoo to Darcha and onto Patseo. The 18 km stretch from Darcha to Patseo is very demanding. The competitors then crosses the mighty Bara Lacha La at 4892 m above sea level to Sarchu. A regroup at Sarchu and back to Patseo for the night halt. No more Pang (all these years, the overnight halt at Pang was feared by all. Temperatures plunging to minus 30°C and lack of oxygen at 4,630 m above sea level was no fun). Also, now they get to cross Bara Lacha twice in one day. Leg V (October 4) included crossing the Bara Lacha La yet again. The first stage is from Patseo to Nakee La. It is all tarmac — fast, furious and fun. The second stage of the day will be more fun. Debring to Rumtse means crossing the Tagalang La at 5,630 m (17,540 ft) above sea level. This is the highest point of the Rally. Onto Leh, 110 km away from Leh and the overnight halt. Leg VI (October 5) is going to be possibly one of the most beautiful drives in the inner Himalayas. Leh to Tangtse, over the Chang La to Mugleb towards Pangong Tso and back to Leh. All of 300 km of excruciating, exciting and exotic drive. Leg VII (October 6) features a 470 km drive. Then it is back to Manali for the prize distribution on October 7. Maruti, the main sponsors, have doubled the prize money this year. In the Xtreme Category, the first prize is Rs 1 lakh. For the Reliability category and two-wheelers, the first prize is Rs 50,000. SBI Auto Loan is the co-sponsor. Hospitality is being provided by JK Tourism and HP Tourism. Last but not least, after months of work and thousands of km of recce, the organisers’ efforts have been washed out, literally. The rain and snow over the past few weeks have caused landslides, mud slides, besides washing out bridges and roads. A grand adventure is in the offing.
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Hockey flop show It is a matter of grave concern that a country of over billion people has not been able to identify and nurture a handful of world-class players in hockey, a sport in which India remained champions for a long period. Alas, the reins of Indian hockey are not in the hands of players but netas and babus. The performance of the Indian team was pathetic in the World Cup. They failed to win a single match in the league phase. The authorities concerned should wake up before it is too late. Subhash C. Taneja, II The dismal performance of the Indian team in the hockey World Cup is very saddening. The entire blame cannot be put on the players and the coach. The IHF top brass must own responsibility for the debacle. India cannot afford to rest on the laurels won by Dhyan Chand, KD Singh Babu and Ajit Pal Singh. Politicians and bureaucrats at the helm of affairs should be made accountable. PPS Thind, Roger & Maria The 2006 US Open tennis singles clashes were a treat to watch. In the women’s final, third seed Maria Sharapova outplayed second seed Justin Henin-Hardenne of Belgium. Kudos to Sharapova for her second Grand Slam title after her 2004 Wimbledon victory. The men’s singles final was on expected lines. Top seed and world number one Roger Federer beat Andy Roddick in four sets. The Swiss achieved the feat of winning three US Open titles in a row to equal Ivan Lendl’s record. Furthermore, with nine men’s singles Grand Slam titles, he has gone ahead of Andre Agassi (eight) and is now only five away from Pete Sampras’ record. D.K. Aggarwala Hoshiarpur |
India might have failed to defend their Commonwealth Games title earlier this year, but they gave two-time world champions Australia a hard time in the league match as well as the final. In 2004, they won on home turf their maiden Asia Cup title, thereby booking a berth for the World Cup in Madrid. The stunning 5-0 rout of South Korea in the semis and the 1-0 victory over Japan in the final showed that India were as good as, if not better, than the top Asian teams. It was a vast improvement from their pathetic show in the 2002 Asian Games, where they had been outplayed by South Korea, Japan and China. All these teams will be playing in the Madrid tournament, with Asiad gold medallists China clubbed with India in Pool A.