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Paddlers fight with backs to the wall
Indian paddlers can spring surprises: Coach Kucharski
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Now Kalmadi seeks Maken’s resignation
India slip to 5th in Test rankings
Will fight for Liverpool: Borini
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Paddlers fight with backs to the wall
When hope was pinned on senior paddlers A. Sharath Kamal and K. Shamini to earn their berths for the London Olympics at the Asian Qualifying Tournament in Hong Kong, the young Bengal duo of Ankita Das and Soumyajit Ghosh upset the applecart. They not only defeated their opponents from other countries, they stunned their seniors too to bag the Indian quota berths for themselves.
While Ankita turned the tables on K. Shamini in a nail-biting match, Ghosh defeated A. Amal Raj to realise his Olympics dream and became the youngest Indian paddler to make the Olympics cut. Though qualifying for the Olympics in itself is a big achievement for this Siliguri duo, a big question mark hangs over whether they would be able to make a mark at the world’s biggest sports show. The past doesn’t look too good. Indian paddlers have never fared well in the Olympics. Though Indian paddlers have been representing the country in the Olympics ever since the sport was introduced at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, they’ve not been able to make their presence felt, struggling to clear even the first stage. At Seoul, Kamlesh Mehta, Niyati Roy and Sujay Ghorpade represented the country, all falling right at the first hurdle. Similarly, Chetan Baboor, who saw action at three consecutive Olympics from 1992 to 2000, could not clear the first hurdle in all his three attempts. Paulomi Ghatak, then the top Indian woman player, also came a cropper in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. A. Sharath Kamal, who was a part of the Indian contingent for the 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing Olympics, could not go beyond the second round while Neha Aggarwal made her exit in the first round. Sharath, the biggest bet for India in the Asian qualifiers at Hong Kong, failed to qualify for his third Olympics. But credit must be given to Ghosh for coming up with a stunning display. But the fight turns really tough now — at London a trial by fire awaits the Siliguri pair as their opponents from China, Hungary and Japan are, to put it bluntly, likely to be too good for them. Training together in Siliguri under former national champion Mantu Ghosh, both the paddlers have been performing consistently in the national and international circuit. Their career graph has seen a smooth climb — from becoming district, state and national champions in the cadet category to making their entry into the Indian senior squad. Honestly, neither of them is even remotely expecting to win an Olympics medal as they are well aware of the calibre of the players they will have to face. What they are looking forward to with hope is an opportunity to improve their performances and justify their selection. The two are currently in China on the last leg of their training with coach Bhawani Mukherjee, who can be called the backbone of Indian table tennis. Mukherjee feels that the Olympics would be a great learning experience for the two youngsters. “Despite their young age, both are extremely talented and have enough foreign exposure to bolster their confidence in London," he told The Tribune. About their medal prospects, Mukherjee said it would be a very tough. "The Olympics will not be a cakewalk... They will have to put in everything on stake to advance at every level,” he said. “They have been training in various countries to play with different opponents, which has really helped them to gear up for the Games. As far as performance in London is concerned, a lot will depend on the draw they get,” he admitted. Talking about their main opponents, Mukherjee said the Chinese players would be the toughest to face. In fact, many Chinese exports are representing other nations too. "Our biggest competitors will be China, Japan, Hungary, Czech Republic, Romania, UK and Sweden,” he said. “I’m just hoping that these youngsters will fare well and win appreciation.” Yes, that’s all we can realistically hope for — winning a medal at this stage of their careers does seem out of the bounds of possibility. Having won the first ever medal for India at the World Junior Championship, Ghosh, who is a first year student at Siliguri, is deeply inspired by two-time Olympian
A. Sharath Kamal. "Though he could not make it to London every paddler sees him as a role model. He is a player who is totally committed to his game and often helps me with his experience,” he said. “I also admire Beijing Olympic bronze medallists Vijender Singh and Sushil Kumar. In a country like ours, which does not have many medals at the Olympics, these people have set a new benchmark. Many things have changed after their medals. Players who earlier thought that an Olympics medal was a distant dream have actually started aspiring for them now", added Ghosh. So what are his London dreams? Ghosh said he’s currently working on perfecting his footwork. "The Olympics would be a great learning experience,” he said. “I feel our careers have just begun and getting this rare opportunity at this early age is a privilege. I am looking forward to it.” Soumyajit Ghosh Main achievements
Ankita says she is extremely delighted to earn an Olympics berth, and wants to make the most of the great opportunity. "Representing the country in the Olympics is a great honour, though it also brings in a lot of responsibility. I want to make the most of this opportunity," she told The Tribune. Ankita, who is a second year student at a Siliguri college, gives credit for her success to her coaches Mantu Ghosh, Subroto Mukherjee and Bhawani Mukherjee. “They have always brought out the best in me, especially Bhawani Mukherjee... He has inspired me to play against opponents with confidence, irrespective of the ranking of the rival player,” she added. She makes every effort to learn about the game from all possible sources so that when she steps on the Olympics playing arena, she’d be able to give her best. Ankita Das Main achievements
Table tennis at London Number of competitors 172 86 men and 86 women Indian angle Soumyajit Ghosh Men's singles event starts on July 28 and the medals round is on August 2 Ankita Das Women's singles event starts on July 28 and the medals round is on August 1 Format: Both the singles and team have a knockout format. Players' seedings dictate the round in which they enter the competition. In singles, the 16 highest-ranked players qualify for the third round, players ranked from 17 to 32 qualify for the second round, and all other players qualify for the preliminary or first round. In doubles, a special team rankings list is used to established the seedings. Ghosh and Das are both unseeded players and will have to beging at the first round. To reach the semifinals, they would need to win five matches each. Beijing 2008 winners Events Winner Men's Team China Men's Singles Ma Lin Women's Team China Women's Singles Zhang Yining
Zhang Jike, the men's world champion and the top seed, is expected to take the gold medal. South Korea is the only nation who could pose a minor challenge to the mighty Chinese. China's Ding Ning, also the world champion, is the top-ranked women's player and the favourite to win the women's singles. Expect a Chinese sweep in women's singles too. Titbits Since table tennis was included in the Olympics in 1988, China has won 20 of the 24 available gold medals. The only European Olympic gold medallist so far has been Sweden’s Jan-Ove Waldner, who won the men's singles at the Barcelona 1992 Games. Table Tennis was banned in the former Soviet Union during the early 20th century because the sport was believed to be harmful to the eyes.
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Indian paddlers can spring surprises: Coach Kucharski
New Delhi, July 14 My advice to both the paddlers would be to use the experience as much as possible. Watch the best, observe them carefully and compete with the best," Kucharski said from China, where the Olympics-bound Indian paddlers are training before leaving for London on July 22. In the words of Kucharski, both have the ability to create a few upsets but it would not be fair to expect something big from the two at the intimidating stage. "I think Rio 2016 or the 2020 Olympics would be much better for them,” Kucharski added. “These big events like Olympics are always perfect to gain experience and motivation even if you don't play many matches." Former world table tennis champion Peter Karlsson had recently said that Soumyajit and Ankita deserved their place in the London Games but it would not be right to expect something big from the two Indians at the marquee event. Kucharski, however, believes that the two have enough firepower to pull off a few upsets in Olympics. "Yes, they are very strong mentally and that's why they qualified for the London Olympics," he said. The Polish coach was also of the view that India's highest-ranked player at 83, Sharath Kamal was both physically and mentally drained during the qualifiers.
— PTI London: Former World champion American Tyson Gay continued his comeback ahead of the Olympics with an important morale-boosting win in the men's 100 metres at the London Grand Prix here Friday. Gay clocked 10.03 seconds to finish ahead of fellow American Ryan Bailey (10.09) while Jamaican Nesta Carter finished third in 10.13. Jamaican Michael Frater was fourth in 10.15, CMC
reports. Warsaw: Poland's Jerzy Kulej, a former double Olympic boxing champion, has died at the age of 71. Kulej won a gold medal in the light welterweight at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo and defended the title four years later in Mexico, reports Xinhua. He was also a two-time European champion, winning the title in 1963 and 1965. |
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Now Kalmadi seeks Maken’s resignation
New Delhi, July 14 Indian Olympic Association (IOA) acting president Vijay Kumar Malhotra also clarified that Kalmadi would not be going to London as a member of the IOA delegation. He expressed his surprise at the Sports Ministry writing a letter regarding Kalmadi’s trip to London without verifying facts from them.
“The Ministry should have verified the facts from the IOA before writing this letter”, Malhotra said, adding, “Kalmadi never asked the IOA to make him part of its delegation”. He said the Sports Ministry’s letter, asking the IOA not to provide any assistance or help to Kalmdadi, “holds no ground as he is not going to London as part of the Indian contingent”. Malhotra said the Indian contingent for the Games, including the IOA delegation, had been finalised a month back “and Kalmadi does not figure in it”. Reacting strongly, in a statement from Pune, Kalmadi said he was “shocked and dismayed” to read about Maken’s reaction to the CBI court’s decision to grant him permission to visit London for the Olympic Games. “In view of Maken going against the court decision, which is quite unbecoming of a Sports Minister, I request our Prime Minister to ask for Maken’s resignation for making such comments and statements”. Kalmadi said Maken “threatening the IOA that he would try to ensure that I was not part of the Indian delegation shows a lack of knowledge about the functioning of autonomous sports bodies”. “I am attending the IAAF meeting coinciding with the London Games as a council member of the IAAF and president of the AAA, and I don’t need any support from the Sports Ministry”, Kalmadi stated. He said Maken’s comments that his going to London will kill the basic spirit of the Olympics shows his “total disregard to the spirit of the games”. “Maken seems to forget that it was during my tenure as the IOA president that India bagged the maximum number of medals in both the Commonwealth and Asian Games. The Commonwealth Games Federation had stated that the Delhi Commonwealth Games as the best-ever games”, he added. Kalmadi said he had been unanimously elected to the IOA three times, which showed the faith of the apex sports body in him. “As per law, I am innocent till found guilty. In may bail application, it has been clearly stated in the court that no financial trail has been proved against me”, Kalmadi noted. Kalmadi accused Maken of “creating problems” in the functioning of sports in the country with his “sustained interference” in the affairs of the National Sports Federations, which in turn was “causing groupism, which will ultimately affect the performance of the sportspersons in the Olympics”. He said the “vilification campaign” mounted by Maken was meant to create “a split between officials and the Indian players in the London Olympics, which will only result in adversely affecting the performance of our participants”. |
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India slip to 5th in Test rankings
Dubai, July 14 Pakistan, despite a 0-1 defeat in the three-Test series, which finished in Sri Lanka on Thursday, have moved up to fourth position, pushing M S Dhoni's men down to number five. Meanwhile, England extended their lead as top Test team after gaining 122 ratings points, while Australia moved to the second place. Although South Africa has fallen to third spot, they can still leapfrog into top position if they manage to win the three-match Test series against England, which begins at The Oval on July 19. If South Africa win the series 1-0 or 2-1 it will be level on ratings points with England but when the rankings are calculated to a fraction of a decimal point then Graeme Smith's team will have the edge. A drawn series or a 1-0 win will mean England retain the number one position and if Andrew Strauss's side were to win 2-0 or 3-0 then South Africa would tumble to fourth spot. Lower down the table, West Indies have fallen below New Zealand, who are now placed at seventh position.
— PTI |
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Will fight for Liverpool: Borini
London, July 14 "My goal celebration is a knife between the teeth. In Italy it means a warrior or someone who never gives up," The Sun quoted
Borini, as saying. "At Swansea and Roma the fans liked it, so I hope to show it to Liverpool fans as well," he added.
— ANI |
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Capello is new Russia boss, claims Arshavin
Moscow, July 14 The 31-year-old Arsenal player, widely considered Russia's most influential footballer, could have had inside information into the affairs of the Russian FA (RFU). However, the Arsenal forward might have jumped the gun announcing Capello's appointment as according to the official RFU line, talks with the 66-year-old Italian will continue next week. Capello, who quit as England boss in February, came to Moscow on Thursday to meet Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko and acting RFU chief Nikita Simonyan. Mutko, who described the talks as "productive", said the RFU would name a new coach early next week. Local media reports on Saturday claimed RFU would hold the final round of negotiations with Capello on Tuesday.
— Reuters |
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