 |
|
| SPORT TRIBUNE | Saturday, June 17, 2000, Chandigarh, India |
Who will light Sydney’s fire? By Sanjiva Wijesinha THE world watched with bated breath as a wheelchair-bound archer shot a flaming arrow into the sky at the opening ceremony of the Barcelona Olympics in 1992. It soared overhead - to land with pinpoint accuracy in a huge cauldron to ignite the Olympic flame and inaugurate the Games. He will
surely be missed Norms
needed for national awards |
|
Who will
light Sydney’s fire? THE world watched with bated breath as a wheelchair-bound archer shot a flaming arrow into the sky at the opening ceremony of the Barcelona Olympics in 1992. It soared overhead - to land with pinpoint accuracy in a huge cauldron to ignite the Olympic flame and inaugurate the Games. Four years ago at the Atlanta opening ceremony, the world empathised with a courageous Muhammad Ali. No longer the elegant boxing champion who could “dance like a butterfly and sting like a bee”, Ali, his body wracked by Parkinson’s disease, shuffled up to the cauldron with the Olympic torch held in his stiff right hand, keeping the tremors in his limbs under control long enough to light the flame. Now Australia’s Olympic Committee is faced with the task of selecting someone to ignite the flame when the eyes of the world are focused on Sydney’s Homebush Stadium as the XXVIIth Games open on September 15. The decision officially rests with the Secretary-general of the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC), Craig McLachlan, and the Chief executive of the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG), Sandy Holloway. “In fact,” says Graham Cassidy, Press Secretary to the Minister in charge of the Olympics, Michael Knight, “the decision will actually be made by the Minister and AOC president John Coates.” Knight and Coates admit that a decision has yet to be made — and that they have agreed not even to discuss the issue until a month before the event. Speculation, however, is rife in the sports-conscious nation. Many feel that the candidate will be selected from Australia’s former Olympians, offering a glorious public swan-song for one of the country’s sporting idols. Foremost among those tipped for the prestigious task is 62-year-old Dawn Fraser. A much-loved public figure, she began her Olympic career at the 1956 Melbourne Games — the only previous Australian Olympics. Fraser won three successive Olympic golds in the women’s 100 metres freestyle. She was also the first woman to swim the distance in less than a minute. In 1988, Fraser was elected by the Sydney suburb of Balmain, where she was born and bred, to represent them in the state parliament. Another Sydney woman, also a winner of four gold medals, is 62-year-old former sprinter Betty Cuthbert. Known as the Golden Girl since she won three golds in the sprints at the Melbourne Games, Cuthbert — who won a fourth gold in 1964 — is described by former team-mate Ron Clarke as “an Olympic icon — probably one of the greatest that we have produced.” Struck down by multiple sclerosis, Cuthbert lives modestly in the small town of Mandurrah in Western Australia. If she is given the honour of lighting the flame, it would be the third consecutive occasion that a disabled athlete would be so honoured. Now 63, Ron Clarke is himself considered a candidate — especially by those who remember him as a slim 19-year-old as the final torchbearer for the Olympic flame at the Melbourne Games. A champion 10,000 metres runner, he broke 19 world records during his career. Someone who thinks Clarke should get the job is 74-year-old Shirley de la Hunty, who as Shirley Strickland won a record seven Olympic medals (including three golds) between 1948 and 1956; “I think Ron is the epitome of athletics in Australia. Just look at his record in athletics, in performance and in service to sport.” The other former Olympic athlete rumoured to be in the running is 62-year-old Herb Elliott, who won the 1,500 metres gold in world record time in Rome in 1960. Elliott works for the AOC. But why does it have to be a former Olympian? Why not an Aussie legend from another sport - for example, cricketer Sir Donald Bradman, who is probably better known around the world than any other sportsperson form this continent? Says former Sri Lanka cricket captain Dr Buddy Reid, who now lives in Melbourne, “From the 1930s, Bradman’s name has resonated among the Australian public, while overseas it has been synonymous with Australian sport. The Don (Bradman) lighting the Olympic flame will be a great story to broadcast around the world.” The powers-that-be may prefer to call on a contemporary hero, someone like swimmer Ian Thorpe or athlete Cathy Freeman. In these days of electronic media coverage, the sensational 17-year-old Thorpe (who has broken 10 freestyle world records in the past two years) and Freeman (the first Aboriginal athlete to win a Commonwealth Games gold) are probably better-known worldwide than most of Australia’s past great swimmers and athletes. Tatsuru Yamada, Sydney bureau chief of NHK-TV, Japan’s major Olympic TV rights holder, has doubts about the international appeal of the old guard of Australian sport. He favours an Aboriginal ceremony, with a flaming boomerang curving majestically into the waiting cauldron as the highlight. Unfortunately, controversy has already hit Australia’s handling of the flame. Kevin Gospar, Australia’s representative on the International Olympic Committee, was the butt of severe criticism here for allowing his daughter to be the first Australian to take part in the torch relay. After the flame was lit at the traditional ceremony in April on Greece’s Mount Olympus, it was handed over to a relay of runners to be taken on its journey to Sydney. One of the earliest runners — and the first Australian national among them — was 11-year-old Sophie Gospar. Her father was subsequently forced to make a public apology for his gross lack of judgement in allowing her to accept this position. With Gospar’s insensitivity creating such a bad precedent, the AOC will be doubly careful about its selection for the task of lighting the flame at the Sydney opening ceremony, an event which will be watched by a worldwide TV audience of billions. — GEMINI
NEWS |
I RECEIVED the news of the death of Mr S.N. Vohra, the pioneer of hockey of Chandigarh, in New Jersey and I exclaimed in anguish: “It is the end of an era”. Although he was ailing for some time, his end was so sudden that it shook the entire hockey fraternity in Chandigarh and beyond. Condolence messages received from all over the country fondly enumerated the yeoman’s service which Mr Vohra had rendered to the cause of hockey during the past four decades. Born on September 21, 1922, in Montgomery (West Pakistan), Mr Vohra, after finishing his education in Lahore joined the Irrigation Department of Punjab from where he retired as an Administrative Officer in 1980. During his student days he was a good hockey player and later also became a Class I hockey umpire. After joining service, he continued his association with hockey by raising a hockey club “Simla Union” in Simla which participated in various all-India tournaments. His romance with Chandigarh hockey started in 1959. On his arrival in Chandigarh, he formed the now famous “Rock Rovers Hockey Club” and was its founder Secretary. Rock Rovers Club over the past four decades came to be regarded as the launching pad for scores of international players belonging to northern India. Mr Vohra provided the ignition for these launches. He was there with the boys in all the stages right from spotting of talent, training and coaching to providing experience through participating in competitive tournaments in different parts of the country. He had great rapport with the IHF brass from the days of Mr Ashwani Kumar till the present regime of Mr K.P.S. Gill. He had the good fortune of working in close tandem with the likes of the Late Mr B.L. Gupta and Prof R.S. Mehta in shaping the destiny of many stalwarts. The former Olympians, Dr Dharam Singh, who was the contemporary from school and college days, Padam Shri Balbir Singh and S. Tarlochan Bawa were on hand at all times for talent scouting and nurturing. His organisational capabilities were without peer. He was a one-man army whose sole concern was the well-being of the players and whom he treated as his own sons. He always kept strict and continuous watch on the progress of his players. He guided them and also, at times, helped them financially. His love for his proteges can be assessed from the fact that when one of his wards, young Gurmit Singh, died in the road accident, he started an All-India Gurmit Memorial Hockey Tournament in his memory in 1970 through his club, Rock Rovers. His organisational acumen made it possible that this tournament became the longest and most efficiently run tournament for 29 long years in which the top teams of the country participated every year. The long list of internationals who took part in the tournament as members of Rock Rovers and also of other teams is really awesome. Those who represented Rock Rovers and then went on to don international colours include former captains Charanjit Singh (1964), Harmik Singh (1972), Ajit Pal Singh (1975-76) and Surjit Singh (1984), Jagjit Singh, Tarsem Singh, Baldev Singh Sr., Kulwant Singh, Inder Gogi, Harcharan Singh, Virender Kumar, Vinod Kumar, Col Raminder Singh and Col Balbir Singh. Mr Vohra also laid the foundation of the Chandigarh Hockey Association in 1963 of which also he was the founder Secretary till he breathed his last. Initially, the CHA was a unit of the Punjab Hockey Association. In 1982 during the tenure of Mr I.M. Mahajan, the IHF gave direct affiliation to CHA solely due to the personal equation and influence of Mr Vohra. The CHA over the years became a force to reckon with. Mr Vohra was never an office seeker. The COA had elected him as its Vice-President. He was also a member of the Chandigarh Sports Council. For him the hockey ground in Sector 18 and the Hockey Stadium at Sector 42 were places of worship. He had no bias or personal prejudices. His pleasing demeanour endeared him to everyone who came in his contact. His persuasive nature
and organisational capacity will be missed and it is hard
to perceive if this void can be filled. While paying him
tributes, players and officials had pledged to work for
the ideals for which Mr Vohra had lived. They also urged
the Administration to raise to suitable memorial to this
“messiah” of Chandigarh hockey by renaming the
Sector 42 Hockey Stadium as the “S.N. Vohra Hockey
Stadium”. |
Norms needed for national
awards EVERY now and then the vexed question of national awards and the norms for selecting the candidates surfaces, whether in the form of a dispute or questioning the reasons for denial of the honour to some other sports person. The fact is that these awards generally leave more people unhappy not only among sportsmen but also in the federations. Recently , during the meeting of the federation bosses with the Sports Minister, Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhinsda, doubts about selection of candidates for the Arjuna Award were voiced not only by sportsmen but also from those heading the federations. In fact, one of the presidents expressed surprise over the way awards were given to the sportsmen in the discipline headed by him. It only showed that there were occasions when people in the ministry did not bother to take the federation officials into confidence while selecting the candidates. Or, to put it bluntly, the ministry overruled the recommendations of the federations. The Arjuna Awards and the selection criteria have, in the past decade so, created problems for the federations. It is never easy to pick sportsmen for some special achievement during the year under consideration. It is a tough as well as thankless job. At the same time, there is considerable scope for changes in the entire process of selection. The changes can be made only if both the ministry and the federation officials agree that the present system is not meeting the ends of justice. Once that is done the entire exercise can be overhauled. The present system of the federation recommending the names and the ministry generally accepting it is something totally outdated if only for the reason that it is not possible for the ministry in particular to have persons knowledgeable about the disciplines concerned. The personnel in the ministry are generally governments servants who are liable to be transferred. And they all cannot be expected to be familiar with the disciplines in which the awardees are chosen from. The federations, too, are not generally packed with officials acquainted with the rules and regulations of the disciplines concerned. In most cases the president is a resourceful personality with clout enough to pull in advertisements and sponsorships. It is not necessary for him to have been a sportsman in his days or even have working knowledge of the game. One cannot blame the federations for looking for presidents with influence in the government and the corporate world. Staging national meets cost money and only a man with influence can help the federations. Nothing wrong about that. But in some federations there are more than one official who is not quite in tune with the discipline. These officials keep on jumping from one game to another without understanding any. Thus, the federations have a responsibility to ensure that all the officials or office-bearers in particular are fully conversant with the basics of the discipline they are associated with. Once this is done, some sort of transparency and order can be brought about in the selection of the right people for the national awards. The new format suggested is that the federation should select one person, totally professional, to aid a committee consisting of three or five former internationals, to pick the candidates to be honoured. And their decision should be passed on to the ministry for clearance. The ministry, if it has any doubts could always send the file back and ask for clarification. The committee of sportsmen and the federation nominee should have the last word. There is no guarantee that even this system will be fool proof but no one will question the honesty and credentials of the people making the selection. Not everyone can be pleased but they can certainly be convinced that the people making the selection did it with the best of intentions. The limiting of the federation representative to just one and the elimination of the ministry from the role of selecting the candidates is to ensure that there no fingers will be pointed out at either of the two bodies. At the same time the body of ex-internationals should all have been in direct touch with the sport. Once this body, whose tenure could be limited, is formed then the members should be invited to witness all national and international meets held in India. The new set-up will go a long way in eliminating possible bias by federation officials and charges of favouritism by ministry officials. Not that this is there on a large scale but one must do away with even a hint of doubt that has often spoilt the atmosphere year after year when awards are presented. It must be said with regret that there have been far too many cases of omissions and commissions in the selection/non-selection of awards over the years. One example should be enough here. Gurbachan Singh Randhawa, ace hurdler and a finalist in the Tokyo Olympic Games, has not been considered for a Padma Shri while others with lesser performances have been honoured. Till today there is no explanation for this omission of honour for one of India’s greatest athletes. And a recent petition by well known woman marathoner Sunita Godara in the Delhi High Court only strengthens the cause for a expert body to select the awardees. In fact, the Delhi High Court ‘‘has asked the centre to place before it the criteria laid down for selecting sportspersons for Arjuna and other national awards and sought to know whether athletes were screened by medical test for doping before being considered for the awards.’’ The petitioner has, in fact, charged that no statutory law existed on any sports in the country and no proper criteria or procedures had been laid down to select candidates for awards. The medical test part of
it in the petition gives a new twist to the whole
process. In fact, it thrusts more responsibility on the
people choosing the awardees in the future. But if it
works in foreign countries than it is time India too fell
in line with the rest of the world. |
sm
Kudos to Pierce for historic win Congratulations to Mary Pierce for her splendid victory in the French Open singles final. She outclassed Conchita Martinez in straight sets to claim the coveted crown. Thus she became the first French woman in 33 years after Francoise Durr to achieve the remarkable feat. Maintaining her scintillating form, Pierce fought like a lioness throughout the tournament. She showcased her tremendous resolve in ousting Martina Hingis in the semifinal. In the final, she completely dominated over her rival in the first set in which Conchita meekly yielded in the face of Pierce’s onslaught. In the second, she overwhelmed her opponent by sheer confidence, tenacity, skill, strength and stamina. She deserves accolades as she lifted not only the women’s singles title but also the doubles. Tarsem S. Bumrah Youngsters ignored The virus of regionalism has bitten into the citadel of Indian Cricket. Power politics and region based attitude have replaced merit and skill. It is quite unfair that the heroes of the under-19 cricket squad of India who helped the country in wresting the under-19 World Cup are not even being considered for selection in the senior squad despite possessing domestic as well as successful international experience. Performances of these youngsters were appreciated by the world’s famous cricket personalities and were well highlighted by Indian and world media. These players, including Reetinder Singh Sodhi, Ravneet Rickey, Yuvraj Singh and Manish Sharma are still left out of the national squad for reasons best known to the BCCI authorities. The need of the hour is to include talented and deserving youngsters in the national squad. Parminder Singh II I was not surprised to see the Indian team’s dismal performance in the Asia Cup at Dhaka. Defeat is now a matter of routine. What a surprise that players who were complete failures during the 1996 and 1999 World Cup were in the team despite their inconsistent performance. Even players suspected to be involved in match-fixing were in the team. The BCCI is doing nothing to groom young players although they have enhanced the prestige of our nation by winning the junior World cup. The young generation is the future of our country. Instead of discouraging youngsters they should be given a chance to lead the nation at an appropriate time. Pakistan and Sri Lanka, on the other hand, are showing good results because their boards have reposed confidence in their young players. It is high time that Mohammad Kaif and Reetinder Singh Sodhi are included in the Indian team. Ravneet Rickey, the best batsman of the tournament, and Yuvraj Singh, man of the series of the victorious junior World Cup team, should also be tested for the senior team. Pritpal Singh Dutch victory Hats off to the Dutch men and women for lifting the Champions Trophy defeating Germany 2-1 and 3-2, respectively in the finals. This double win is the result of the European champions’ brilliant hockey coupled with team spirit, stamina, speed and shooting process. Sunder Singh |
 |
|
