Daily Excelsior.........sports

Asean Cup triumph a
small beginning : Bhutia

KOLKATA, July 30: India’s soccer icon Baichung Bhutia, who played a key role in East Bengal’s Asean Cup triumph, today said the big success in Jakarta was a ‘small beginning’ for Indian football, which could inspire the national team to achieve similar feats..............more

Gavaskar hits out at
champion sledgers

LONDON, July 30: Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has hit out at world champions Australia for sledging which was ruining the good name of the game...............more

IHF planning to hold
six-nation tourney

NEW DELHI, July 30: After a gap of more than six years, hockey lovers in the country can hope to witness some international action at home as the Indian Hockey Federation is planning to stage a Six-nation Tournament early next year...............more

Venkat Sundaram to
head BCCI grounds
and wickets committee

KOLKATA, July 30: Former Delhi skipper Venkat Sundaram has been appointed chairman of the reconstituted grounds and wickets committee of the cricket.....more

Sumit Silwal-an unsung
hero amongst junior
cricketers

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, July 30: A lesser known cricketer Sumit Silwal, who is yet to come into lime-light at the national level, has, however, achieved a lot at State level during.......more

Friends Club wins by 9-
wkts to enter quarter-finals

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, July 30: Friends Cricket Club (FCC) today defeated Natraj Cricket Club (NCC) by nine wickets to enter the quarter-finals of the Ist Ramesh Memorial.........more

We must have a positive
attitude: Bhowmick

KOLKATA, July 30: East Bengal coach Subhas Bhowmick, who played a crucial catalytic role in scripting the club’s success story in the recent Asean........more

Amritraj advances
to second round

NEW DELHI, July 30: India’s Prakash Amritraj advanced to the second round of the $380,000 Mercedes-Benz Cup Tennis Tournament in Los Angeles, USA, after sixth seed Marat Safin retired with a wrist injury......more

British Chess Championship
Kunte upstages Rahman, moves to the top......

Quality coaches and coaching assignments....

Popat, Murgunde move into second round.....

More misery for injured Serena.....

Asean Cup triumph a small beginning : Bhutia

"This is a small beginning. You cannot expect one international victory to completely turn things around... But if clubs take right steps, focus on fitness of players, the soccer standard will definitely improve," Bhutia told newspersons here.

Fitness, he said was the most crucial factor that could make a big difference in the country’s prospects and performance in the international arena.

Equating India’s LG Cup win in Vietnam last year with East Bengal’s victory in the Asean Cup, the mercurial striker said the Indian national side also had the potential to make it big in foreign tourneys if clubs took care of the players’ fitness throughout the season.

Asked to compare the national side with that of East Bengal - which has three foreign recruits - Bhutia said the Indian team also had very good players like Renedy Singh and I M Vijayan, capable of playing high standard soccer.

To a question, the star striker said he preferred Stephen Constantine to remain in charge of the national side while services of Subhas Bhowmick were important for East Bengal. About his joining the Malaysian outfit Perak FC, Bhutia said "they are taking me on loan for a period of two months. The club will also benefit from this in monetary terms. I will come back before the National Football League".

However, "if they want me for a long term, they will have to wait till the next season".

Coach Bhowmick, commenting on the offer, said "personally I have no objection to his playing for the Malaysian Club. If one player goes and plays in Malaysia, it will not only benefit him but his club here as well since the standard of soccer played there is above par."

Besides Bhutia, Bhowmick said, some clubs had shown interest in medio Sur Kumar Singh too.

While advocating for participation in more foreign tournaments, Bhutia said "the domestic and overseas tourneys should be accommodated in a proper fashion in the soccer calender. Then, it will beneficial for players and clubs". (PTI)

Ganguly happy over East Bengal’s Asean conquest

Indian cricket skipper Sourav Ganguly today congratulated East Bengal for their historic triumph at the Asean Club Cup Championship in Jakarta, saying that it was a victory for Indian sports.

"I’m happy at their success," Ganguly told newspersons on the sidelines of a felicitation here.

Ganguly also praised the present East Bengal squad, terming it as a "happening side".

"It’s very difficult to build a team. They have built a good team. Its a happening side," he said.

Asked whether he thought that East Bengal’s success would now enable football to challenge the supremacy of cricket, Ganguly said "it’s ultimately a gain for Indian sports irrespective of the sporting discipline." (PTI)

Gavaskar hits out at champion sledgers

LONDON, July 30: Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has hit out at world champions Australia for sledging which was ruining the good name of the game.

Calling for immediate steps to check "verbal bouncers" and intimidatory tactics on the field, the former Indian captain warned that if this was not done "the good name of the game that we all know will be in mud".

Delivering a lecture in the memory of former England captain Colin Cowdrey at the Marylebone Cricket Club at Lord’s last night, Gavaskar did not directly name Australia but left his distinguished audience in no doubt who he was referring to when he deplored "personal abuse" on the field.

Most of those indulging in verbal abuse belong to a "champion side" and it makes others believe that it is the only way to play winning cricket, Gavaskar said.

Seeking protection for players, the 54-year-old celebrated opener said sledging has degenerated into downright personal abuse. "If there is protection for the umpire from the players, why not protection to players from abusive players?"

Gavaskar blamed commercialisation of the game and the motto of winning it at any cost for the marked decline in the on-field behaviour of the players.

"In the modern world of commercialisation of the game and the advent of satellite television and the motto of winning at all costs, sportsmanship has gone for a six," he said. (PTI)

IHF planning to hold six-nation tourney

The proposed tournament, to be held in Chandigarh, will be played in between the Afro-Asian Games in October and the Olympics qualifiers in March.

"Yes, we are planning to hold a Six-nation Tournament in January next year. But it is at a very nascent stage now," IHF secretary K Jothikumaran told PTI over phone from Chennai.

"We have asked the Chandigarh administration, which came up with the proposal to stage the tournament, to send us an official communication after which we will request the FIH to finalise the dates," he said.

India has not held a Multi-national Hockey Tournament at home since 1997. The country has not even staged a bilateral series since 2001 when Germany toured India for three Test matches.

Jothikumaran said though the names of the teams are yet to be finalised, IHF is keen to rope in two countries each from Asia and Europe besides Argentina for the tournament. But Jothikumaran made it clear that Pakistan would not be invited for the tournament.

"It depends which countries are available during that time. We will discuss about it with the FIH and federations in other countries. But Pakistan are unlikely for the tournament," he said.

Attributing India’s failure to host international tournaments on a regular basis to "lack of infrastructure," he said the ihf has asked Chandigarh administration to get ready with a floodlit stadium in case FIH approves its proposal.

"We don’t have floodlit facilities in any centre and that is one of the reason why we are not staging many tournaments."

Jothikumaran, who has been appointed as one of the four judges for the next month’s Champions Trophy, said he would be leaving for Amstelveen, venue for the tournament, on August 14.

"The players will be going on August 11, a day after the preparatory camp in Lucknow. I will be going on August 14 to be there as one of the judges."

Besides Jothikumaran, Virendra Singh has also been selected as one of the nine umpires for the elite Six-nation Tournament, starting on August 16. (PTI)

Venkat Sundaram to head BCCI grounds
and wickets committee

KOLKATA, July 30: Former Delhi skipper Venkat Sundaram has been appointed chairman of the reconstituted grounds and wickets committee of the cricket board.

Announcing this here today, BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya said the newly constituted committee would meet here on August 5 to plan for the ensuing cricket season.

Sundaram was appointed chairman after Kasturirangan resigned from the post. The other members of the committee are Daljit Singh, Dheeraj Parsana, Anand Shukla and Prabir Mukherjee.

Sundaram, a qualified umpire and a selector of Delhi cricket team, has specialised on preparation of a variety of pitches and the quality of grass for the outfield. He has been closely interacting with the New Zealand Sports Turf Institute.

The grounds and wicket committee meeting was also expected to take a decision on Kanpur as the Test venue for the upcoming New Zealand series on August 5.

Mohali and Kanpur were originally scheduled to host the two Tests against the Kiwis, but doubts were raised with regard to the latter after it was reported that the relaid pitch might not be ready in time. (PTI)

Sumit Silwal-an unsung hero amongst junior cricketers

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, July 30: A lesser known cricketer Sumit Silwal, who is yet to come into lime-light at the national level, has, however, achieved a lot at State level during all these years. Sumit has emerged as one of the top spin bowlers among the junior cricketers in Jammu and Kashmir.

Despite turmoil in the State and lack of domestic activities, this teenager from the Jammu played high cricket and has the distinction of leading the North-Zone under-16 team as vice-captain in 2001-2002.

Sumit is the only junior cricketer from the State who was presented with a cash prize of Rs 10,500 by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for being member of the North Zone team which won the inter-zonal championship in under-16 group in 2000-2001.

Left-arm leg-spinner, Sumit has to his credit highest 60 wickets in the under-16 (now under-17) category in the North-Zone competitions.

Sumit was first cricketer from Jammu and Kashmir to be called for two and half month advanced course by the BCCI at Zonal Cricket Academy at Delhi in 2001. Sumit was selected for this prestigious camp on the basis of his consistent performance at the zonal level competitions and his selection in the North-Zone team for three consecutive years from 1999 to 2002.

After completing his Matriculation from MHAC Nagbani School, here, Sumit left for Delhi where he completed 10+2 and now has been selected, on merit basis, in Delhi College of Engineering. In Delhi, Sumit used to play for Sonnet Club (Junior).

Sumit joined the game of cricket in 1999 after getting inspiration from his uncle, Ajit Silwal, a Ranji Trophy player, informed Sumit’s father Ashok Silwal, who remained like shadow attached with his son during domestic and national competitions.

Friends Club wins by 9-wkts to enter quarter-finals

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, July 30: Friends Cricket Club (FCC) today defeated Natraj Cricket Club (NCC) by nine wickets to enter the quarter-finals of the Ist Ramesh Memorial (Cosco ball) Cricket Tournament being played at Baba Jamuna Dass grounds, Paloura, here.

Earlier, batting first after winning the toss, Natraj Club made 106 runs for the loss of seven wickets in the stipulated 14 overs. In reply, FCC chased the total in 9.4 overs with nine wickets in hand.

Chotu was top scorer with 54 runs off just 30 balls studded with six hits over the fence from NCC. Vijay contributed 13. Ajay took three wickets while Laddu bagged two for FCC.

Chasing a target of near eight runs per over, FCC reached the required total in just 9.4 overs losing one wicket. Lara was highest scorer with 51 including four sixes and four fours while Rakesh added 37 runs with the help of three sixes. Vikas was the only wicket taker from NCC.

Sameer Matoo and Pandoo David were umpires while Anil Mengi was scorer. Today’s match was sponsored by Rakesh Jewellers. Next match: Shivalik Club will meet Josh Club tomorrow at 4.45 pm.

We must have a positive attitude: Bhowmick

KOLKATA, July 30: East Bengal coach Subhas Bhowmick, who played a crucial catalytic role in scripting the club’s success story in the recent Asean Club Championship, today said a combination of positive attitude and modern and scientific approach was needed to improve India’s soccer standards.

Bhowmick, who returned home along with his charges to a tumultuous welcome last night, urged the All India Football Federation, the state associations and other clubs to follow the lead given by east bengal and take the necessary steps to take the country forward in the game. "What we must have is a positive attitude and a modern and scientific approach. Somebody had to make a start. East Bengal has done it. Now it is for the soccer administrators and other clubs to keep up the tempo," Bhowmick told reporters here. However, he also cautioned his club not to rest on the laurels of the Jakarta triumph. "We are the pathfinders. But the club must not stop here. Then the efforts that have been put in so far will go waste". "I am sure if all those involved with the game come forward, India’s soccer standards will go up. And in the long run, such positive thinking will percolate down to all the sporting disciplines," he said. (PTI)

Amritraj advances to second round

Amritraj, a wild card, was leading 5-3 in the first set yesterday when the Russian retired with an injury to his left wrist.

Amritraj will now take on Kenneth Carlsen of Denmark in the prequarterfinals today, according to information received here.

Former world no. 1 Australian Lleyton Hewitt, now ranked five, is the top seed in this hard court tournament.

In doubles, Prakash and his cousin Stephen Amritraj will take on top seeds Rick Leach and Brian MacPhie of USA in the first round.

Meanwhile, the Indo-Pak pair of Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-Haq advanced to the doubles quarterfinals in the Colorado Classic Challenger Tournament in Denver, USA.

The top seeds beat American wild card pair of Mark Dietrich and Ogidi Obi in straight sets 6-4 6-3. (PTI)

British Chess Championship
Kunte upstages Rahman, moves to the top

EDENBURGH (Scotland), July 30: Continuing with his outstanding form, Grandmaster Abhijit Kunte defeated overnight leader GM Ziaur Rahman of Bangladesh to move to the joint top position in the 8th round of the Smith and Williamson British Chess Championship here.

GM P Harikrishna joined Abhijit at the top of the tables with a hard-earned victory over compatriot and Commonwealth women’s champion S Vijayalakshmi.

Both Abhijit and Harikrishna have 6.5 points each to their credit and will now meet in the next round.

Half a point behind the two leaders were GM Peter Wells of England, double GM norm holder Tejas Bakre and Rahman while a pack of nine players including GM Surya Shekhar Ganguly and Vijayalakshmi were on their toes with 5.5 points apiece.

Three more rounds remain to be played in this prestigious event that carries the winner’s purse of 10,000 pounds.

The fact that this is the last British Championship for the Indians apparently has pumped the players on the top boards as Bakre also registered an important victory over WGM Arakhamia-grant Ketevan of Georgia and remained in contention for his final GM norm.

After a disastrous loss against Vijayalakshmi in the previous round, Surya Shekhar Ganguly also came up with a fine performance to beat Robert Gwaze of Zimbabwe.

The other winners among the Indian men were GM Dibyendu Barua who got in to the groove and had a smooth sailing over Gerald Moore of England and Neelotpal Das who defeated another British Bret Addison.

However, Swati Ghate’s dream run was finally halted as she went down to England’s Lawrence Webb. Nevertheless, the Pune player is almost certain to get her second Women Grandmaster norm after her ninth round game.

Abhijit displayed steely nerves to cruise past Rahman whose determined attack in a level position failed against a precise play. The opening was Catalan where Rahman got a semblance of advantage in the middle game with greater board control.

Abhijit was composed right through the end and warded off the threats one by one. The central pawn mass of Rahman might have given some jitters to the Indian but their vulnerability remained a cause for concern for the Bangladeshi too.

In the decisive phase of the game, Abhijit gobbled a couple of pawns on offer and defended in copybook fashion. Rahman resigned when there was no counterplay left for the lost material.

In another Catalan game of the day, Harikrishna had to work a lot harder against Vijayalakshmi. Playing white, Harikrishna maintained pressure right from the word go but Vijayalakshmi’s defence appeared quite difficult to break. (PTI)

Quality coaches and coaching assignments

By Rajesh Dhar

Friends, everyone from cricket community ought to have heard about Ramakant Achrekar and Harsha Bhogle. These two legendary personalities of India are the known figures in the world of sports in Cricketing field. Both these persons have earned a good name and fame at the international level — former as a cricket coach and later as an expert commentrator. Ramakant, a coach to a perfection and Bhogle, a commentrator to a perfection. Achrekar has produced players like Tendulkar, Kambli and Amre etc, while Bhogle has won hearts of many with his subtle wit, sweet voice and ambitious grit. None, of these guys have been players of any class of cricket but with their immense knowledge and experience they have proved themselves in their respective subjects.

Utilisation of services of such experts can be productive in different disciplines and at different levels of sports in creating a niche in the field of sports. But we in our country especially in J&K State hardly utilise the services of such greats for promoting sports as the state has already missed the services of great sports personalities including Tej Koul with its curt treatment towards them.

However, it is shocking that our sports department, council or associations sometimes assign coaching camps to the persons who lack knowledge in their subjects which simply is against the promotion of sports in the state. When a coach does not know how a spiker jumps, an athlete runs, a footballer kicks, a bowler bowls or a bater bats how can one expect miracles from him/her. I am of the firm opinion that qualification should not be the only criteria in assigning camps to the coaches but more than that is sound experience and thorough knowledge.

A coach ought to be a player is not written in any dictionary but what a coach ought to have is scientific as well as philosophic knowledge of skills and techniques of the game. Moreover, some of the coaches lack a factor known as motivation. This motivation factor plays an important role in enhancing the performance of a player. So such coaches should be employed who cannot only prove their usefulness but prove themselves Draunacharyas in different disciplines of sports. They should have the guts to inculcate sense of sports aesthetics in the players and should have the knowledge to go into the philosophy of psyche of the players.

Removal of complexes of the players plays a pivotal role in coaching. A coach who lacks knowledge in his subject is full of complexes so to expect such a coach removing complexes of the players is meaningless. As long as a player is having any kind of complex whether superior or inferior, to see him shine at any level is almost impossible. Inefficient coaches hardly command any respect from the players rather they demand it from them and result is evident from the performances of the state players at the higher levels.

It has also been observed that there is a trend that sports authority of India (S.A.I.) coaches or trained persons from National Institute of Sports (NIS) are weighed in sophisticated spring balances and the persons who have acquired specialization in specific sports disciplines in other sports institutes of the country are weighed in simple balances, which shocks many.

If qualification were the only measurement to know the potential of coaches then India should have produced lots of stars in sports at the international level as there are as many as thousand SAI coaches in India but that is not the case as we see almost a decimal performance of the Indian players at the International Level.

Some of the coaches of our state are just by their names not by work or worth. But such coaches too are assigned camps in our state so that they can hold their posts and fill up the food bills and pool money. The concerned authorities do not think in long term perspective for the good health of sports in the state.

Coaches should be assigned camps according to the outcome of results keeping in view the future of the teams in longer perspective and at the same time not expect overnight miracles from any coach. There are some employees in the field staff of Department of Youth Services and Sports, State Sports Council and other associations, who have immense knowledge in their specific games but are not qualified coaches i.e., they are not NIS degree holders so, are not assigned camps for this reason which is not genuine because the degrees only are not to be seen but what ought to be seen is the practical worth of the coach.

So, in future the concerned authorities ought to avoid assigning coaching camps to the persons who are inexperienced and undue. I hope the camps are assigned to the experts if not like Achrekar but to the persons at least commanding respect in their respective subjects. That is the only way to create a niche in the field of sports and therein lies the greatness and true spirit of the game.

Popat, Murgunde move into second round

NEW DELHI, July 30: Undeterred by the early exit of their men counterparts, women shuttlers kept the Indian hope alive with both the singles as well as the doubles players booking their place in the second round of the World Badminton Championship being played in Birmingham, England.

India’s top woman shuttler and national champion Aparna Popat defeated Wan Ting Ling of Hong Kong 13-10 11-8 while Trupti Murgunde got the better of Spain’s Dolores Marco 9-11 11-4 11-9 in matches played yesterday, according to information received here.

Popat, who had a one-one record against her 25th ranked opponent, was in control of the match from the beginning as she dominated ling for the entire 32 minutes.

Popat now faces 10th seed Kyeung-Ran Kim of Korea in the second round and could run into second seed Zhang Ning of China in the pre-quarter finals.

In another tie, Murgunde, a last minute entrant in the main draw, saw off the challenge of the top Spanish player Marco in a gruelling 56-minute match to set up a second round date with Kaori Mori of Japan who defeated 15th seed Kelly Morgan of Wales. After losing the first game 9-11, murgunde resorted to a more compact style, taking the remaining two games to advance into the next round. Meanwhile, the men’s doubles pair of V Diju and Sanave Thomas lost to Sudket Prapakomal and Patapol Ngernsrisuk of Thailand 13-15 12-15 in 31 minutes, ending the Indian Challenge in the men’s event.

The women’s pair of Jwala Gutta and Shruti Kurien had defeated the Swedish pair of Johanna Persson and Elin Bergblom on the opening day. They now face 16th seed Wen-Hsing Cheng and Yu-Chin Chien of Chinese Taipei in the second round. (PTI)

More misery for injured Serena

CARSON (California), July 30: Serena Williams’ grip on the World No.1 ranking could be in danger after pulling out of her second tournament in as many days.

The WTA tour announced that the winner of five of the last six Grand Slams would not be playing as top seed in next week’s JP Morgan event because of a strained left quadriceps.

The thigh injury was discovered Monday after Williams had a MRI on her left leg in Los Angeles, forcing her to withdraw from this week’s Acura Classic in San Diego.

She strained her quadriceps over the weekend while practising.

The 22-year-old also pulled out from Stanford, played last week, meaning that she is now scheduled to defend her title at the US Open from Aug 25.

Currently, both Williams and her elder sister are both hurt, with Venus still carrying the abdominal strain which she picked up in the spring and which slowed her in the all-Williams Wimbledon final. (DPA)