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The successful staging of the 4th Military World Games in Hyderabad was complemented
by an improved show from Indian sportspersons, writes Ravi Kant Singh
India
finished 20th with a haul of 10 medals at the 4th Military World Games, thanks largely to the efforts of the boxers. The overall show of the Indian contingent, though it could have been better, was a vast improvement over their performance in the 2003 edition at Catania (Italy), where they had finished with a lone bronze through boxer Kehanand Beliwal. This time, they won two gold, one silver and seven bronze. Incidentally, all Indian medallists were men. Brig-Gen Gianni Gola of Italy, president of the International Council for Military Sports (CISM), thanked India for hosting the “best ever” Military World Games (the next edition will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2011). “It’s no small credit to the host country for the excellent, truly world-class facilities for these games, in which over 100 nations took part,” he gushed. Incidentally, Hyderabad had also hosted the 2003 Afro-Asian Games with spectacular success. The first gold for India was bagged by Enterprise class sailors R. Mahesh and Girdhari Lal Yadav in Mumbai. Bantamweight boxer P Narjit Singh clinched India’s only individual gold, while four other pugilists claimed bronze medals — Hari Krishan Beliwal (light flyweight), Satya Raju (light welterweight), D Bhagyarajan (welterweight) and Mohinder Thapa (light heavyweight). Indeed, the boxers’ performance showed that India have good medal prospects in the ring. Beliwal and Narjit are already knocking on the doors of the national selectors. Barring AL Lakra, who failed to be among the medallists, none of the pugilists are part of the eight-member team that is representing India at the ongoing World Boxing Championship in Chicago. In volleyball, the men’s team spiked its way to the bronze, defeating Qatar in straight sets. China (gold) and South Korea (silver) were both tough opponents, but the Indians never surrendered meekly. Jeetender Singh (400m hurdles) and Chatholi Hamza (1500m) picked up bronze medals on the track. With more training, they could win medals in major international events like the Asian Games, the Afro-Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games. Hamza especially did well to match Kenyan runners stride for stride and was only beaten on the final bend of the race. Vijay Kumar, CK Chaudhary and Hambir Singh shot the team silver in the 50m centre fire pistol event but that was all that India could gain from the shooting range. Vijay, who shot a record 590 in the team event, missed an individual medal after a shoot-off for the bronze. Lt-Col Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, though given the honour of lighting the games’ flame, did not compete because double trap did not figure in the competition. Shooting has seen a surge in interest in the past few years, especially after Rathore won a historic silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, but the marksmen of the armed forces still lag behind. This was clear from their scores in the competition at Hyderabad. The football team did well to qualify for the quarterfinals where they lost by an extra-time goal to eventual champions Egypt, who made short work of their opponents in the semifinals and final. More than the performances, the games would be deemed a success if they spark a revival of sporting activity among the men in uniform, something that has suffered greatly in past two decades. One of the reasons cited is the deployment of troops for internal security duties. However, if the games can rekindle interest in sports, the whopping amount of Rs 15 million — what the 4th Military World Games cost — would have been well spent.
— IANS Russia emerged on top of the medal tally with 42 gold, 26 silver and 28 bronze. China finished second with 36 gold, 22 silver and 13 bronze. Germany were a distant third with 7 gold, 10 silver and 13 bronze. Three world records, one each in swimming, military rifle shooting and parachuting, were created, apart from 27 games records. China’s Li Yang bettered the world record in the 50m backstroke, though her feat would be subject to confirmation by FINA, swimming’s world governing body. Her compatriot China’s Zhou Yafei, along with Russia’s Evgeny Lagunov, won four gold each, all in the pool. Russia ruled the roost in wrestling (10 gold) and parachuting, while China dominated in shooting (nine gold), diving and military pentathlon. The two heavyweights shared the honours in swimming.
— Agencies |
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What a Finnish Ferrari’s 28-year-old Finnish “Iceman”, twice a runner-up in the title standings with his former team McLaren, finally reaped the rewards with victory in the Brazilian season-ender. After trailing McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton by 17 points before the penultimate race, the Chinese Grand Prix, Raikkonen took the maximum score from the last two races of the season to emerge as the champion by a single point. “For sure we were not in the strongest position at some parts of the season but we always believed that we could recover, that we could do a better job than the others,” he said. The Finn, whose love of partying is as well-documented as his monosyllabic approach to the media, paid tribute to his team and said he would not let the success change him or his lifestyle. “It’s not going to really change my life too much,” he told a press conference. “People will probably try to make up more stories about me but I’m not going to change myself, I never did before and it’s not going to happen in the future. “It was a long season and it’s hard to realise that we finally did it after many years. It was not really in my mind to be a world champion because I was so far away,” said Raikkonen, who recognised that his luck had finally turned after all the disappointments of the past. The Finn, who stepped into retired seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari shoes this season after five years with McLaren, echoed his German predecessor in saying that the Italian team felt like a family to him. “I enjoy every moment with the team,” said the first driver since the late Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio to win the championship in his first season with Ferrari. “It is such a nice big family, great people to work for. I’d rather win with them than anyone else,” added Raikkonen, whose victory at Interlagos was his sixth of the year. Raikkonen became the third Finnish F1 world champion after Keke Rosberg (1982) and Mika Hakkinen (1998 and 1999). The triumph came at the end of one of the emotionally-charged and controversial of seasons, with Ferrari winning the constructors’ championship after McLaren were stripped of all their points for a spying scandal. Asked whether he felt beating McLaren’s rookie Lewis Hamilton and double champion Fernando Alonso to the title was a sort of justice, Raikkonen hesitated. “I think so, maybe yes,” he said.
— Reuters
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IN THE NEWS After being omitted from the side for the ODI World Cup earlier this year, Gambhir hit back by playing a key role in India’s sensational triumph in the Twenty20 mega event. His gritty knock of 75 in the final against Pakistan at Johannesburg helped India post a fighting total. The bowlers, led by Irfan Pathan, did the rest. Pathan got the man-of-the-match award, but some experts felt that the Delhi southpaw deserved it more. The 26-year-old finally got the award in the T20 game against Australia in Mumbai, smashing 63 off 52 balls to secure a facile win. Having mastered the quickfire version, Gambhir would love to improve his record in one-dayers as well as Tests. He has often struggled while facing top teams. This year, his three biggest ODI knocks have come against weaker sides — 101 vs Bangladesh, 85 not out vs Scotland and unbeaten 80 vs Ireland. In the three matches he played in the recent series against Australia, the opener failed to get a double-digit score. Gambhir needs to draw inspiration from his T20 success and use it as a springboard to become an all-round batsman who can make his presence felt in all forms of cricket.
— Agencies
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Putting it rightly Oil
India’s Harjinder Singh Kang has struck form at last. The 33-year-old Chandigarh golfer overcame a five-stroke deficit by shooting four birdies to clinch the LG Samarvir Sahi Amateur Golf Championship at the Chandigarh Golf Club last week. He withstood a strong challenge from three-time Sri Lankan Amateur Open champion Simarjeet Singh to record his first major win on home turf. This victory on the amateur circuit has geared him up for the SAARC Golf Tournament to be played in Kathmandu from November 1 to 4. Besides Kang, Simarjeet and Jasjeet will comprise the three-man Indian team for the event. Kang is also in the Indian squad for the Sri Lankan Amateur Open to be played in Colombo from November 13 to 16. The other members of the team are Gagan Verma and Abhishek Jha. It was a dream game for Kang on the final day. He appeared relaxed despite trailing by five strokes against India’s No. 1 amateur golfer Simarjeet Singh. He birdied the 10th and 11th holes and overtook the leader by parring the 12th. “That was the turning point,” said Kang. “I managed to save par while Simarjeet dropped two shots on the 12th hole to squander the lead.” Kang then birdied the 14th, while the overnight leader dropped shots on the 16th, 17th and 18th. “It’s pretty hard to believe it. Obviously, you dream about winning your home tournament. To have it actually happen, once it sinks in, it’s pretty special,” exclaimed Kang. Samarvir Sahi, in whose memory the Indian Golf Union-recognised tournament is held in the City Beautiful every year, was himself a very promising golfer who died at the young age of 25 in 1994. He completed a talented foursome along with Chiranjeev Milkha Singh, Amandeep Johl and Harmeet Kahlon. Samarvir stood out in the quartet with the longest drive. Today, he is no more, but the other three are all international players. Befittingly, the tournament dedicated to him has become a major platform for amateur golfers.
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IN THE NEWS
Kimi Raikkonen
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