Great Indian expectations fall short of mark

DOHA, Dec 15: A heady mix of a forgotten hero Jaspal Rana shooting his way to fame, the historic flop show by men’s hockey team and the unsavoury spat between gold medallist tennis doubles specialists, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, is how the Indians could sum up the 15th Asian Games.

Several Indian medal prospects also failed to deliver and India’s final tally of 54 medals, mainly comprising bronze, left a sense of dissatisfaction.

The tally of ten gold would have been more if the script that was promised by the officials had unfolded on expected lines.

The final medal break up — 10 gold, 18 silver and 26 bronze-did not justify India sending a jumbo contingent, including in little-followed sports like sepak takraw and fencing, with many of the athletes virtually going unnoticed.

In comparison, the Indians had sent a much smaller contingent for the last edition of the Games in Busan and did better with a haul of 11 gold, 12 silver and 13 bronze medals.

The Indian Olympic Association officials admitted here that wearing the country’s colours has become easy with many federations sending participants on their own since the food and accommodation is taken care of by the organisers.

The officials are still to realise that the Asian Games was not the place for exposure and strict standards must be laid down to earn berths for these mega events.

It will also save India from the embarrassment of losing by huge margins and becoming a laughing stock.

A few bronze medals in events such as wushu, equestrian, rowing and sailing have meant that the spread has been bigger but it is the failure in traditional medal-winning events like shooting, athletics and, to some extent, tennis which makes the performance look ordinary.

However, the biggest debacle for India came in the form of the below par performance of the men’s hockey team which failed to reach the semifinals for the first time and finished a poor fifth.

The other blot was the off-the-court war of words between ace tennis doubles pair of Paes and Bhupathi. Their ego clashes overshadowed the veteran duo’s gold medal winning feat.

The athletes were also a big let-down as there was a sharp drop in the gold medal collection as compared to Busan four years ago.

If the athletes were the toast of the nation in the last edition of the Games, where they captured as many as seven gold, six silver and four bronze medals, the measly collection of one gold, four silver and four bronze by the 42-member squad this time speaks volumes of India’s current standard at the Asian level.

The women’s 4x400 relay team comprising S Geetha, Manjeet Kaur, Chitra Soman and Pinki Pramanik brought the only gold, saving India the blushes on the very last day of competitions.

There were some unheralded athletes such as Santhi Soundarajan (800m) and O P Jaisha (5,000m) who came to the big stage without any expectations and returned home with silver and bronze medal respectively. More The seasoned Anju Bobby George, who had stayed away from too many competitions this year, secured a silver medal in the women’s long jump event. PTI)

Winter Games begin in Kashmir

GULMARG, Dec 15: The Winter Games, including Skiing and Skating, commenced at this world famous tourist resort here today, about ten days ahead of schedule on December 25.

Talking to UNI here, Joint Director Tourism Sarmad Hafeez said the decision to prepone the games was taken in view of early snowfall this season.

‘’we decided to advance the dates to enable the tourists and the participants to fully utilise the winter season,’’ he added.

Hafeez said besides Gulmarg, Winter Games will also be held at unexplored ski resorts of Yousmarg, Doodipathri and Pahalgam.

He said the Tourism Department has started a week-long Ice Skating Championship from here today.

This would be followed by Gulmarg Cup from february 4 to 11 next year while the Gondola Ski Cup will be organised in the last week of february, Hafeez added.

The Jammu and Kashmir Youth Services and Sports Department has also organised a Ski coaching camp here.

The department will organise different courses for students in skiing. While the first course would be held from january 7 to 21 next year, the second will be held from january 23 to february 6, the third from february 8 to 22 and the fourth from february 24 to march 10.

An Inter-District competition would be held from march 12 to 16.

The Kashmir University would conduct the first course from january 20 to february 3 and the second course from february 18 to march 4.

The Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council will hold its first course from january 16 to 29, second course from february one to 14 and the third course from february 15 to 28. Besides, the SKI Association of Delhi will organise a National Snowboard Championship there on January 13 and 14 next year.

Hafeez said the season was likely to give a fillip to the ailing Tourism sector as visitors, especially from abroad, were expected to visit the Kashmir valley. All the arrangements for the winter games were being finalised, he added.

He said the famed resort has fine quality and well-groomed slopes available. ‘’we have 6.5 km of ski slopes from Afarwat to Gulmarg. There are absolutely no brown patches and we also have finest quality of equipment.’’

Hafeez said the Snow Festival would start on December 24 and a large number of domestic and foreign tourists were expected to take part in the event.

He said the Tourism Department has received 350 confirmed bookings mainly from Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Hafeez claimed that for the first time ever the department has roped in foreigners for ski patrol team. The team would manage slopes, take part in rescue operations and avalanche control. (UNI)