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| SPORTS TRIBUNE |
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Topsy-turvy Inconsistency has been the name of the game in the ongoing Champions Trophy. Barring a mediocre England, all major teams have shown flashes of brilliance, yet none has done enough to be safely called clear-cut favourites. Most teams have suffered upsets, proving the cricket pundits (and tarot-card readers) wrong in almost every match. A big win for a team in one game has often been followed by a crushing defeat in the next. Nail-biting finishes and run feasts have been few and far between. Sri Lanka, who were upbeat after a 5-0 whitewash in England, started with a bang when they mauled the West Indies in the first real contest of the tournament. The match, which decided who would be on top among the two qualifiers, was a totally one-sided affair with the West Indies crashing to a nine-wicket defeat. They were bundled out for 80, their lowest total in an ODI against Sri Lanka, who chased it down in a mere 13.2 overs and ensured that the game was done about four hours before the scheduled close. The Lankans were expected to maul a beleaguered Pakistan team in their first group match. They paid the price for complacency as their bowlers failed to defend a total of 253. This was the first close contest of this Champions Trophy in which the fate of the match was decided after about 97 overs. Lankan pacer Farveez Maharoof, who had destroyed the Windies with a six-wicket haul, could do nothing to stop a rampaging Abdul Razzaq. Lankans bounced back into the tournament with a convincing win over New Zealand, who had earlier registered an 87-run victory over South Africa. The Lankan bowlers shot out the Kiwis for 165 and reached the target in just 36 overs for the loss of three wickets. After a resounding performance against South Africa, the Kiwis strangely looked an ordinary side against the Lankans. After this victory, the Lankans again slumped to a defeat. Nobody gave South Africa a chance against the islanders. After all, the Proteas had earlier failed miserably in chasing a modest Kiwi total of 195. Lankan bowlers restricted South Africa to 219, but their batsmen let them down, handing the rivals a morale-boosting 78-run win. This win-loss cycle involving New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka was mainly due to inconsistent performances. Players like Maharoof, Upul Tharanga and Stephen Fleming have found it hard to repeat their spectacular efforts. Four days after registering one of their lowest ODI totals, the West Indies came back strongly to outplay world champions Australia (the Caribbeans had also beaten them once in Kuala Lumpur during the tri-series). But the Aussies kept alive their hopes of reaching the semifinals by defeating England on Divali. Even the Indians, who are well-known for their inconsistency, proved yet again that even a small total was a big worry for them. They managed a win against England, but not before surviving a scare. The much-vaunted Indian batting line-up struggled to chase a target of 126, taking 30 overs and losing six wickets in the process. Only England have “performed” consistently so far. They are the only team to have lost both of their first two group matches, managing paltry totals of 125 and 169 against India and Australia, respectively. In short, the tournament is wide open. It is anybody’s game now. With conclusions drawn on the basis of past record and current form counting for nothing, the Champions Trophy has reached an interesting phase, keeping experts and fans guessing. Who knows we might have a surprise winner like the last edition, when the West Indies came from nowhere to lift the trophy.
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Survival at stake Indian hockey is in tatters. The freefall that the national game has been experiencing was brought to the fore at the recent World Cup in Germany. With the Doha Asian Games coming up in December, the 62nd National Hockey Championship, after many fits and starts, is in progress at Jalandhar, Amritsar, Ludhiana and Bhaini Sahib. The championship had no takers till the Punjab Hockey Association stepped in to “rescue” the event. Two years ago, the Premier Hockey League was started with the association of sports channels ESPN-Star Sports to market hockey and provide media coverage. PHL and the national championship are as different as chalk is from cheese but they can complement each other to serve the game if the administrators show enough foresight and determination. If hockey sees a revival, the two may prove to be small but significant steps. With almost 1,000 players and 50 teams competing, the nationals may throw up new faces with a fresh attitude. The championship can be the platform to launch careers and spot talent while the PHL can serve as a professional league which will raise the standard of the game and also provide the players with the much-needed money. Players need financial security for themselves and their families if they are to concentrate wholeheartedly on the game. Young players like Sandeep Singh, Deepak Thakur and Prabhjot Singh have already opted for better paying organisations like the Indian Oil Corporation. The World Cup debacle has shaken the hockey fraternity and the authorities, but to what extent can they learn lessons from it and take measures to stop the slide is yet to be seen. “Our standards have not gone down,” says Hardeep Dhillon, secretary, Punjab Hockey Association. “Others have progressed by leaps and bounds while Indian hockey slumbered.” “This championship could prove to be the forum to search new players, to widen our pool of available players for the national team. Youngsters can prove themselves and come into the reckoning.” The Indian Hockey Federation aims to identify a pool of about 50 players to have a broader base of selection for the national team. To identify promising players, former players and selectors are watching the matches at all four venues — Hardeep Singh at Bhaini Sahib, Ramandeep Singh at PAU, Ludhiana, Surinder Sodhi at Jalandhar and Balwinder Shammi at Amritsar. Two teams would be selected, one from associate members and the other from state teams to play against the probables for the Asian Games at Rourkela. Hockey has broken new ground at the national championship, in which Andaman and Nicobar Islands made their debut. But the federation is hard-pressed to hold on to the current standards. The national championship is simply looking for survival. The PHA has agreed to hold it regularly for the next five years with Dainik Bhaskar and Tracer Shoes stepping in as sponsors. The championship has just too many matches, of which some have been completely lopsided. This aspect would be taken care of next time, says Dhillon. The IHF plans to have two divisions so that equally matched teams play against each other. The preliminary and the super-league rounds would also be held separately at six zonal centres to streamline the lumbering schedule. Lessons have been quickly learnt at the Premier Hockey League. Changes come into effect from this season to streamline it and make it more professional. Also, efforts are on to decrease the interference of the IHF. Gone would be the fanciful names like Bangalore Lions and Hyderadad Sultans. The two-tier system would also be abolished. India needed a professional league, as it is beneficial for the top players who had to go to other leagues to gain experience and money. The league provides cut-throat competition; the participation of good foreign players adds to the advantage. Last year, the winners took away Rs 30 lakh as prize money, while the runners-up pocketed Rs 10 lakh, besides monetary remuneration for the third-placed teams and best players. Live coverage of matches ensured encouraging TV viewership. In contrast, the national championship, played for pride and the Rangaswamy Cup, doesn’t offer any prize money. Doordarshan will only telecast the semifinals and the final. Sixtytwo years into existence and the national championship is simply looking to survive, while the PHL, with just two editions behind it, is gaining ground. Still, dedicated and persistent efforts can make the hockey nationals an exercise in utility.
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Hercules on wheels A
40-plus sportsperson is a rarity in today’s rough and tough sporting world. Chandigarh-based Rakesh Mahindra, who is 43, has still not lost his passion for cycling. He showed his mettle recently by pedalling 670 km in nine days, braving the demanding conditions in the Himalayas to win the 40-plus title in the Hercules MTB (mountain biking) Himachal rally. Mahindra finished with an overall ranking of 17th in the rally, in which 60 ace bikers participated. After starting from Shimla on October 5, the cyclists had to cross Shillaroo, Sarahan, Kulu Sarahan, Bhairon Ghati, Jalori Pass, Gada Ghushaini, Kulu and Manali, where the rally culminated on October 13. “It was very tough to sustain one’s strength on the heights of Gada Ghushaini and Jalori Pass (3,400 m). It was not merely a competition among the participants but also a tussle between man and machine,” says Mahindra, who took part in the event after 20 years. “I used to participate in inter-college, inter-state and inter-university cycle competitions during my student days in the early eighties. But I had to leave the sport in 1986 due to personal reasons,” recalls Mahindra, who was fascinated by the gear bikes of the Army men who were practising at Panjab University for the 1982 Asian Games. Mahindra played a key role in forming the Chandigarh Amateur Cycling Association and was a founder secretary of the organisation. “It was my love for the sport which kept me attached to it in one way or the other. In 1999, I passed the international referee course in mountain biking, which made me the only qualified international referee in cycling as well as in MTB in the country. After that I went to Switzerland to get advanced training in MTB in 2002. All this encouraged me to take part in the championship after a long span,” he says. Mahindra observes that besides power, stamina and determination, technical know-how is also necessary for a biker to compete in such a gruelling event. “We used to pedal on tough tracks for more than nine hours daily, covering 70 to 110 km every day. It took three hours daily for bike maintenance.” “As the sport has been picking up gradually in the country, our association took the initiative by conducting MTB competitions in Chandigarh and its vicinity. We held a national MTB competition in 2000. A trail was developed in the forest area behind the Panjab University campus. In 2002, a trail was developed at Kaimbwala hills. Now, we are planning to hold an event on the lines of the Hercules rally,” he adds. As an expensive and less popular sport, mountain biking needs the government’s help and attention to get a boost. “The government should come forward to subsidise the equipment and spare parts, besides providing special facilities to qualified coaches,” opines Mahindra.
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IN THE NEWS Having become Formula One’s youngest double world champion, Fernando Alonso would be happy to retire with just one more title.
The 25-year-old Spaniard, who secured his second consecutive F-1 title in Brazil on Sunday, leaves Renault to race with McLaren for the next three seasons, a route followed by Brazilian former world champion Ayrton Senna. “To join McLaren and never to race with Ferrari reminds me a lot of Senna,” Alonso told Spanish television station Telecinco. “He won three titles and for me, to retire with three, and achieve what he achieved would be the objective of my career.” Only two drivers have ever won three championships in a row — Ferrari’s now-retired Michael Schumacher and the late Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio. Ayrton Senna, Mika Hakkinen and Alain Prost all won two successive titles with McLaren but a third in a row proved impossible. “Hopefully, I can fight for the championship next year. But it’s difficult to repeat what Michael (Schumacher) did, the dominant position for so many years,” he said. Alonso endured some tough moments in the final few races this year as Ferrari’s Schumacher closed on him in the run-up to the final race in Brazil. Speaking of the Italian Grand Prix controversy, when he was punished by the sport’s governing body for allegedly blocking a Ferrari rival in qualifying, Alonso did not hide “Not to have won this year would have been made me really angry, and would have been such an injustice,” Alonso added. “For this reason I was extra motivated in Brazil to make sure that everything remained where it has done throughout the year, in our own hands.” He needed only a point from the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix but he finished second for his 14th podium in 18 races. Felipe Massa raced to victory, while seven-time world champion Schumacher finished fourth in the final race of his career. Alonso won seven races in all and helped Renault do the “double double” — winning both drivers’ and constructors’ titles for two years in a row.
— Reuters
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Oil’s well Kudos to the Indian Oil Corporation for clinching their maiden title in the SN Vohra’s All-India Gurmit Memorial Hockey Tournament. They outplayed Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited 3-1 in an action-packed final. The hero of the star-studded IOC was the tall Namdhari Didar Singh, who scored a brace to help the oilmen annex the coveted trophy. Having taken a 1-0 lead, IOC had become complacent in the second half. They were roused from their complacency when BPCL’s Amar Aiyamma struck in the 62nd minute to make the scoreline read 1-1. Thereafter, the oilmen rallied remarkably to pump in two goals to win the title. However, BPCL, having international players in their ranks, were themselves responsible for the loss. They earned several penalty corners but failed to capitalise on them. They could not cope with the tremendous pressure exerted by their rivals in the last few minutes of the match. Tarsem S. Bumrah |
