Prize catch!
The foremost question now is whether India will be able to improve its performance over the previous editions of the Commonwealth Games
Avishek Roy

With less than a month to go for the Commonwealth Games, the focus is slowly shifting from all the controversies surrounding its preparation to what the event is all about: sporting performances. But with new scandals involving doping coming to light, the big question now is whether India can return its best performance at the 19th edition of the quadrennial event on home turf.The 440-member Indian contingent is participating in all 17 disciplines at the Games and will be vying for 793 medals.

Organising Committee vice-chairman Randhir Singh, an Asian Games gold medallist in shooting, is upbeat. "The athletes have been putting all effort to see that we come up with our best performance in the Commonwealth Games and they need our encouragement," Randhir Singh said in New Delhi. But then, the late handing over of the stadia to the Organising Committee means that the athletes will hardly get time to train at the venues, where work is still being carried out. As a result, athletes are either training at Sports Authority of India centre at Patiala or Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune.

In such a situation, the Indian athletes may lose a bit on the home advantage factor as crucial practice in the new facilities would have made a world of a difference. There will be plenty to cheer for fans as they watch out for star players like Beijing Olympic gold medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra, bronze medallists Sushil Kumar and Vijender, badminton champ Saina Nehwal and tennis stars Sania Mirza, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, who will lead the Indian challenge.

The question uppermost in the minds of sports buffs is whether India will be able to improve its performance at the Games. India finished fourth at the previous edition at Melbourne, but its 50 medals, including 22 gold, were way behind the top three — Australia (221), England (110) and Canada (87). At Manchester in 2000, India had won 69 medals. Shooting gave a fillip to India's tally at Melbourne and it is again expected to lead India's campaign. Besides shooting, weightlifters and wrestlers are expected to provide the bulk of the medals. India topped the shooting charts at Melbourne with a whopping 27 medals, 16 of them gold. Pistol shooter Samresh Jung, who four years ago was India's hero in Melbourne winning five medals, has managed to qualify only for the standard pistol event and lost his place in the air pistol and free pistol category.

The team will have new faces in junior world champion Asher Noria, who won gold in double trap with a world record equalling score in the Munich World Championship. Ronjan Sodhi will be the other shooter in the category.

"Though Rathore has been left out, we will not miss him because he has not been in the team for the last year and a half. Ronjan Sodhi has been shooting well in international competition. Noria will be one of the young shooters to watch out for," coach Sunny Thomas said.

"At the Commonwealth Games all the participating nations will be in full strength and for us the real challenge to surpass the previous record of 27 medals won at Melbourne," he said. Badminton, table tennis, archery and tennis are also expected to boost India's medals tally. A majority of new medals is likely to come from wrestling, which did not feature at Melbourne, at which 21 gold medals will be at stake.

This in a situation in which four wrestlers, including Arjuna Awardee Rajiv Tomar, who tested positive positive, have been removed from the squad.

Organising Committee secretary general Lalit Bhanot says the doping cases will not hamper India's performance.

"It's not a good thing what has happened, but in terms of performance, I don't think it will have an impact," Bhanot said. Wrestling Federation of India president G. S. Mander is also confident that India will get more than a handful of medals in the sport. "Our teams have got exposure trips abroad. We have foreign coaches, masseurs and proper training staff. It has made a difference," he said.

"We are confident of winning a medal in every event and more than 50 percent will be gold medals, the doping scandal notwithstanding," Mander maintained.

Boxing is another sport that will draw a lot of attention as it has received a tremendous fillip after Vijender Singh's bronze medal performance at the Beijing Olympics.

"We had won five medals in Melbourne and we will be aiming to win at least seven medals this time," said P.K. Muralidharan Raja, secretary general of the Indian Boxing Federation.

In athletics, India has claimed only one gold medal in the history of the Commonwealth Games and that was by Milkha Singh who won the 400 metres at the 1958 Cardiff Games. At Melbourne, India had only three medals to show in athletics from the 160 up for grabs. In swimming, which accounts for 127 medals, India returned empty-handed in the last two editions. This time though, India are expected to win a handful of medals in these two events.

Though lengthy paper work and procedural hurdles meant that precious time was lost in clearance of finances and the less-popular sports in the country like cycling and gymnastic have suffered as they have not got the equipment on time. Similarly, the full bore shooters are still to get their rifles that the government ordered three months ago. However, the Games are about the athletes and the controversies will fade away once athletes take centrestage. — IANS

Wise to Walk
A daily dose of brisk walk keeps breast and bowel cancer at bay, according to a new research

Taking a brisk walk daily could prevent thousands of cases of breast and bowel cancer, according to new research. Just 45 minutes a day of activity at a moderate level could prevent about 5,500 cases of breast cancer in the UK. And at least 4,600 bowel cancer cases could also be stopped if people were moderately active for at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week, research showed.

Moderate activity is any type of exertion that increases heartbeat and makes you breathe more deeply. Shorter bouts of exercise are also just as good as longer ones. It is the total time spent that is important, according to the World Cancer Research Fund, a charity. It says choice of a healthy diet and taking regular exercise lowers the risk of developing cancer across the board, reports the Daily Mail. Besides brisk walking, other significant activities include cycling leisurely, dancing, swimming at a leisurely pace, gardening and vacuuming combined with other housework.

According to the Fund, exercise also cuts the risk of women developing womb cancer. It seems to keep cancer at bay by helping people stay a healthy weight.

For example, slimmer women are less at risk of cancer-promoting hormones produced by body fat. The risk of dozens of other cancers is also lower than for those who are overweight or obese. Rachel Thompson, the deputy head of science at the Fund, said people should aim to be physically active for at least half an hour every day. "There is now very strong evidence that being physically active is important for cancer prevention," she said. —IANS

Scary steroids
Not just professional sportspersons, amateurs also run risk from steroids
Sachin Kalra

Steroid abuse is still on the rise, and not just among professional athletes and bodybuilders. Despite numerous educational efforts by healthcare officials, many amateur athletes looking for that elusive edge still believe they can get it from a syringe or a bottle of pills.

What they don’t realise is that steroids will give them a lot more than they bargained for.

Steroids are classified as anabolic (or anabolic-androgenic) and corticosteroids. Corticosteroids, such as cortisone, are drugs that doctors typically prescribe to help control inflammation in the body. They're often used to help control conditions like asthma and arthritis.

Anabolic steroids are synthetic hormones that can boost the body's ability to produce muscle and prevent muscle breakdown. Some athletes take these in the hope that they will improve their ability to run faster, hit farther, lift heavier weights, jump higher, or have more endurance.

Anabolic steroids are drugs that resemble the chemical structure of the body's natural sex hormone testosterone, which is made naturally by the body. Testosterone directs the body to produce or enhance male characteristics such as increased muscle mass, facial hair growth, and deepening of the voice, and is an important part of male development during puberty.

When anabolic steroids increase the levels of testosterone in the blood, they stimulate muscle tissue in the body to grow larger and stronger. However, the effects of too much testosterone circulating in the body can be harmful over time.

Acne, liver damage, increased risk of heart disease. These are just a few of the side- effects associated with anabolic steroid abuse.`A0 And there is more.

The side-effects are severe. Men who use steroids also may develop gynecomastia (the development of breasts) and edema from sodium and water retention.

They also will be more prone to cardiovascular problems since steroids decrease high-density lipoprotein levels (HDL) or good cholesterol, and increase low-density lipoprotein levels (LDL) or bad cholesterol. Steroids users are also at an increased risk for heart attack.

An additional concern is alterations in psyche and behaviour. Some users become aggressive or combative, developing "roid rage" — extreme, uncontrolled bouts of anger caused by long-term steroid use. Decreased immune functions are also a source of worry.

Changes in the reproductive system, such as a reduction] in testicle size, sperm count and mobility, and a decrease in the levels of endogenous testosterone and other sex hormones are common.

Unlike men, whose side-effects may be reversible once the abuse has stopped, women experience irreversible changes, such as deepened voice, increased facial and body hair growth, enlarged clitoris and coarser skin.

In addition, irregularities in or cessation of menstrual cycle, increased libido, aggressiveness, acne and decreased immune function may occur. Women are also prone to cardiovascular risks and change in the psyche and behaviour that men experience.

There is an even scarier risk of steroid abuse: DEATH. Steroid users who share needles are putting themselves at the risk of developing infections such as HIV, hepatitis or other viral diseases.

The terminal risks of steroid abuse are not fully known, but some published cases of tumours and other cancers related to it have been reported.

Even now, researchers do not know all repercussions of steroid abuse on one’s body and future health.

Controlled research is unethical and only information from abusers is usable: yet this data may be inaccurate, since most users are not forthcoming about the full extent of their steroid use.

What most steroid users don’t realise is that they are placing themselves at risk for something they could achieve on their own. The best way to improve performance and increase muscle mass is to follow a well-designed programme that challenges both your body and your mind. No drug can ever do that.