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Time to go Indian
dossier IN
THE NEWS |
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The thrilling sport of mountain biking is gradually catching on in India, particularly the northern region, writes Akash Ghai State-of-the-art bikes, treacherous tracks, high-altitude terrain — mountain biking is all about thrills, chills and spills. It might be fast emerging as one of Europe’s most popular sports, but not many people in India know much about it. However, things are looking up for mountain biking, especially in big cities, as state governments and multinationals are coming forward to promote the game. The Himachal Pradesh Government chipped in by organising a mountain biking rally, MTB Himachal 2006: The Himalayan Challenge, with the objective of promoting tourism in the state as well as the sport. The rally, which started on October 5 from Shimla, will conclude on October 13 at Manali. The Himalayas will pose a tough challenge to the bikers, all on their ultra-modern cycles, during their over 600-km-long journey. Two bikers from Chandigarh — Balwant Singh Saini, the national champion in 2004 and Kulbir Kaur, a silver medallist in the 2005 national championship — are of the view that more competitions should be introduced by the Cycling Federation of India to give a boost to the sport. “Compared to the European circuit, where over 1,200 competitions are held in a year, in India there is only one major competition in cycling. The difference in the number of participants is also very vast. Here only 200-250 compete in the national event, whereas in foreign countries the number exceeds thousands,” says Balwant. The other reason for the lukewarm participation is that the bikes used in the event are quite expensive — out of the reach of the common man. “In India, many cycle companies are exporting bikes to foreign countries but they are not selling their products here. If they open some outlets here to sell bikes as well as accessories, Indian cyclists can get these at much cheaper prices. Even the accessories and parts of the bikes should be sold at subsidised rates for the benefit of bikers,” opines Pramod Singh, another Chandigarh cyclist, who won the bronze medal in the last National MTB Championship. He also bagged silver medals in the championships in 2002 and 2003. Besides major companies and sponsors, the government should also announce some awards for the winners, says Pramod. “After winning several medals, I am yet to receive any award or recognition from the government,” laments Pramod. However, the Haryana Government gives Rs 31,000, Rs 21,000 and Rs 11,000 to winners of gold, silver and bronze medals, respectively, while in Punjab the equipment has been provided by the government. As the sport is famous for the risk factor, there is a need to review the security arrangements made by the organisers, says Pritam Pal Singh, the Chandigarh state champion in 2003. “During the national event, the organisers provide only one or two ambulances. As mostly these are parked at the starting or the end point, it is difficult for them to deal with an emergency midway through the event. In local or state-level events, organisers provide only first-aid kit. In contrast, in foreign countries, motor cycles, helicopters and ambulances escort the bikers all the way,” says Pritam. The bikers are of the view that an active role by the media in highlighting their achievements and increasing awareness about the sport can provide a big boost to mountain biking in India. |
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Time to go
The
beginning of the end of Sourav Ganguly’s cricket career started at last year’s Challenger Series in Mohali. During his tenure as the captain, Sourav undoubtedly gave a new orientation to Indian cricket, helping youngsters like Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Mohammad Kaif blossom into fine players. However, his own form with the bat went from bad to worse. Skipping the 2005 Challenger tournament, citing injury as the reason, was probably a decision he will rue forever. The conclusion of the event not only saw captaincy slipping away from his grasp but he also lost his place in the national squad thereafter. Of course, he did try to stage a comeback, but so demanding is international cricket, especially the one-day variety, that he has not been able to return. To add to his woes, his mentor Jagmohan Dalmiya lost his hold on the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and new coach Greg Chappell did not see Ganguly fitting into his gameplan. (Ironically, it was Ganguly who was largely instrumental in Chappell getting the coach’s job). But Sourav did not give up. He went on playing doggedly, turning out for his club in the CAB League in Kolkata, for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy and other tournaments, having a stint in the English county cricket and attending any camp he was invited to. The Challenger Series in Chennai earlier this week has virtually brought to an end the international career of the former skipper. This was perhaps the last chance for the Bengal southpaw to prove that he had some cricket still left in him. With an eye on his future political prospects after being elected President of the BCCI for a two-year term, Sharad Pawar had gone on record to say that Ganguly could probably make a comeback into the team on the basis of a good showing in the Challenger Series. But Sourav’s hopes went up in smoke with two poor scores in the matches he played for India Green. A 24-run effort against India Blue (an innings that lasted 44 minutes, with four hits to the fence, but which ended in a familiar fashion as he holed out in the deep) and just three runs from nine balls against India Red signalled the end of the road for India’s most successful Test captain and one of the best openers in the history of one-day cricket. His bowling efforts at Chennai was no better, with figures of 5-0-23-0 against India Blue and 9-0-43-0 against India Red. So poor was his performance that he has not even been picked for the Rest of India squad that would take on Uttar Pradesh in the Irani Trophy match at Nagpur, starting on October 9. To make things simplistic, the entire focus of the tournament at Chennai was on Ganguly and how he would perform. Nobody spared a thought for the other players. Ganguly looked fit, but it was his batting skills which were on test and it was in this department that he failed Where does Sourav Ganguly go from here? It would be good for him if he could read the writing on the wall and retire gracefully. If he wants to give something back to Indian cricket, he has his academy in Kolkata where he can now devote more time to train budding players. He can jump on the bandwagon like those former cricketers who have become top commentators or he can try his luck in cricket politics like the way he tried to dislodge Dalmiya in the CAB elections. But as far as international cricket is concerned, his innings is over. |
The Champions Trophy has by and large been a happy hunting ground for India. They were the joint winners along with hosts Sri Lanka in 2002, the runners-up in 2000 and the losing semifinalists in 1998. The team came a cropper in the 2004 edition in England, getting knocked out by Pakistan in the preliminary round. Here are the highlights of India’s most memorable victories in the biennial event. India v Zimbabwe Colombo (September 14, 2002) India
288 for 6 in 50 overs (Mohammad Kaif 111 n.o., Rahul Dravid 71, Virender Sehwag 48; Douglas Hondo 4-62). Zimbabwe
274 for 8 in 50 overs (Andy Flower 145, Grant Flower 33; Zaheer Khan 4-45, Sachin Tendulkar 2-41). Result:
India won by 14 runs Man of the match: Mohammad Kaif India vs England Colombo (September 22, 2002) England
269 for 7 in 50 overs (Ian Blackwell 82, Nick Knight 50; Ashish Nehra 2-49, Anil Kumble 2-58). India
271 for 2 in 39.3 overs (Sehwag 126, Sourav Ganguly 117 n.o.; Blackwell 1-46). Result:
India won by 8 wickets Man of the match: Virender Sehwag India v South Africa (semis) Colombo (September 25, 2002) India
261 for 9 in 50 overs (Yuvraj Singh 62, Sehwag 59; Shaun Pollock 3-43, Allan Donald 2-41). South Africa
251 for 6 in 50 overs (Herschelle Gibbs 116, Jacques Kallis 97; Sehwag 3-25, Harbhajan Singh 2-37). Result:
India won by 10 runs Man of the match: Virender Sehwag India vs Australia Nairobi (October 7, 2000) India
265 for 9 in 50 overs (Yuvraj Singh 84, Sachin Tendulkar 38; Shane Lee 2-31, Brett Lee 2-39). Australia
245 all out in 46.4 overs (Ricky Ponting 46, Michael Bevan 42; Zaheer 2-40, Venkatesh Prasad 2-43). Result:
India won by 20 runs Man of the match: Yuvraj Singh India v South Africa (semis) Nairobi (October 13, 2000) India
295 for 6 in 50 overs (Ganguly 141 n.o., Dravid 58, Yuvraj 41; Donald 2-34). South Africa
200 all out in 41 overs (Mark Boucher 60; Zaheer 2-27, Kumble 2-28, Tendulkar 2-32). Result:
India won by 95 runs Man of the match: Sourav Ganguly India vs Australia Dhaka (October 28, 1998) India
307 for 8 in 50 overs (Tendulkar 141, Ajay Jadeja 71, Dravid 48; Michael Kasprowicz 3-71). Australia
263 all out in 48.1 overs (Mark Waugh 74, Ponting 41; Tendulkar 4-38, Javagal Srinath 2-36). Result:
India won by 44 runs Man of the match: Sachin Tendulkar — Vikramdeep Johal |
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IN THE NEWS
When Gaurav Ghei ended an 11-year Asian Tour title drought by winning the Mercuries Masters golf tournament in Taipei last week, his immediate reaction was of relief. “This was great and came after such a long time. I have had ups and downs, some injuries a couple of years ago and some other problems, but now I have been playing well. So, it is nice to have won this one,” he said. A proven star on Indian turf, Ghei’s first and only Asian Tour title before this came at the 1995 Gadgil Western Masters with the much-talked-about chip-in for eagle on the 72nd hole. With almost 20 top-10 finishes in the period since, including a close second at the Hero Honda Indian Open last year, Ghei finally ended his wait for the second title with a brilliant six-under 66 that saw him register a great victory that was the third for Indian professional golf in the past 10 months after Shiv Kapur at the Volvo Masters of Asia in December, 2005, and then Jeev Milkha Singh at the Volvo China Open in April this year. The win also opens a lot of doors for Ghei, who gets to play in the elite company of Tiger Woods and others at the HSBC Championship in Shanghai in November, where there will be at least two other Indians, Kapur and Jeev, as other winners since the last edition of the tournament. Ghei, who turned 38 last week on September 25, has always been a dangerous customer on Indian courses, particularly in the final round and more so if the tournament is at the Delhi Golf Club, which is his home course. Considered a trail-blazer of sorts in Indian golf, Ghei was a prodigy in Indian golf when he started coming up in the mid and late 1980s. The Delhi boy won a lot of junior events and then in 1990, he represented India at the Asian Games in Beijing alongside Jeev Milkha Singh. He also represented India in the Asian Games and Nomura Cup. The winner of numerous amateur titles across India, he turned pro in 1991 and one of his early international wins came at the Desaru Classic in Malaysia and the Asia Nations Cup in 1999 in Malaysia, where he was first individually. He came within a whisker of winning the inaugural 1997 Hero Honda Masters at Delhi Golf Club. He was third in the 2000 Myanmar Open and Wills Indian Open and joint fifth in the 2000 Macau Open. Then injuries took over. He had bad seasons in 2001 and 2003, but in between he was he was tied ninth at the Hero Honda Masters in 2002 . But it was only in 2004 that Ghei started getting back to the form of old.
— PTI
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Tennis ace Congratulations to Leander Paes, the Indian tennis ace, who rose like a phoenix from the ashes to end his title drought by winning the US Open men’s doubles title. Pairing with Martin Damn of the Czech Republic, Leander demonstrated that the fire in him had not died yet. The Indo-Czech duo downed second seeds Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi to clinch the crown in style. After losing the first set, the duo regrouped remarkably to clinch the second and third. Leander’s long-awaited victory has spurred him to set his sights on the Doha Asian Games where he will be seen in action in singles as well as doubles. Tarsem S. Bumrah,
Batala Hockey horror The performance of the Indian hockey team reached its nadir during the World Cup. It’s not just the players who are to be blamed for the fiasco — the top brass must own responsibility. For such an important tournament, the Indian Hockey Federation should have brought back players like Dhanraj Pillay, Baljit Saini and Deepak Thakur. It was a mistake to send untried and less-experienced players. Experience plays a vital role, especially when the opponents are formidable. Jyotika Sood,
Ludhiana II India put up a pathetic show in the hockey World Cup in Germany, where they won just one of their seven matches. India were found wanting in three aspects — killer instinct, attacking hockey in the dying minutes of the game and a never-say-die attitude. Of course, the absence of Sandeep Singh, the ace drag-flicker, made a big difference to the team’s fortunes. B.M. Singh,
Amritsar |
