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| Friday,
May 23, 2003, Chandigarh, India
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Four trainees, coach to leave CLTA Chandigarh, May 22 Not only the top players, but also one of their top coaches, Birbal Wadhera, has decided to say ‘good-bye’ to the CLTA. While confirming this, Mr Kailash Nath, General Secretary of the CLTA, said the coach had indicated his inability to continue with the CLTA. “He is likely to join the new academy being set up by the All India Tennis Association (AITA) at Gurgaon,” he said. He said four of their trainees had also decided to migrate to Gurgaon. The AITA has claimed to impart tennis coaching on a par with international standards at the new academy. “We will miss these player, Chitwinder Singh, Tushar Librahan, Sanam K. Singh and Shiva Sangwan,” said Mr Nath. It may be mentioned that Chitwinder Singh had won an international junior tennis tournament organised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) at Colombo last year, while Tushar had won the Asia Cup (junior) a few years ago. Although he claimed that the CLTA had few other good players, expectations from whom were high. But the question is, who will be the future Chitwinder or Tushar for Chandigarh? Chandigarh will miss those four players who had represented Chandigarh in ITF and AITA tournaments in the past few years. This will definitely cast a shadow on the local-level tennis tournaments. The CLTA will have to work hard to come out of the ‘crisis’ that may otherwise lower the credibility of the association in imparting training to young players in future. On the other hand, Mr Kailash Nath was confident that AITA academy would not be a success. “They had experimented in late 90s by establishing a national-level tennis academy at the RK Khanna Tennis Stadium, New Delhi, but that proved a futile exercise forcing the authorities concerned to shut it down,” he added. He further claimed that CLTA had better organisational arrangements and long-standing credibility that would help in improving the skills of players. “We have one director (coaches), five coaches and eight assistant coaches, besides three physical and two gymnastics trainers and a physiotherapist,” he added. When asked if the young players have decided to migrate due to lack of competition or exposure in the city, he said, “Exposure comes through tournaments at national and international levels, not in the academies.” “The CLTA has planned to host four international and national-level tournaments in the current year that may help boost the hopes of trainees,” he added. These tournaments would start from May 26, June 9, September 22 and October 16. Apart from this, another tournament would be held at Panchkula from June 30, he said. |
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Cricket
bats were never so cheap before Chandigarh, May 22 Yes, it’s true. The prices of cricket bats have fallen by as much as 50 per cent ever since bats made out of Kashmir willow flooded the sports market in the city. If you are having any doubts about the fall in prices, just walk into any of the sports goods showroom. Displayed in the racks are “Kashmiri” bats with price tags of Rs 200 or so. “Until a few years ago, even amateurs had to save pocket money for months for buying a good quality bat as it used to cost between Rs 500 and Rs 600,” says Mr Rajesh Bajaj of a Sector 7 sports goods showroom. The reason behind this is not very hard to see. “In Chandigarh and other towns of the region, you used to get bats manufactured in Jalandhar and Meerut,” Mr Bajaj says. “The quality was good, but in the absence of stiff competition, the prices were quite high,” he adds. Giving details, he asserts, “Kashmiri manufacturers hardly posed any threat to the producers in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh as you used to get just the clefts, instead of the entire bat, from the valley.” He adds, “The things have changed now. In an attempt to encourage local manufacturers, the government in Kashmir is marketing the finished product instead of just a part of it. In the wake of a stiff competition, the prices have fallen, not only of the Kashmiri bats, but also of the ones manufactured in the region. While you can get a local bat for Rs 300 and above, a good willow bat from Kashmir is costing at least Rs 100 less.” But what about the sales? Do cricket players prefer Kashmiri bats over the ones manufactured in Jalandhar or Meerut? “It is a matter of preference,” captain of the under 17 local cricket team, Saurabh Arora, says. “Actually there is a little difference between the bats because of workmanship. As per my own experience, those manufactured in Jalandhar and Meerut are a little better than those coming from Kashmir. That is the reason why the sale of both the products is more or less the same, despite the difference in the price.” Agreeing with him, another cricketer says, “As of now, I have purchased a bat made in Jalandhar. But soon I will be buying another bat made out of English willow. It is costing around Rs 6,000, but I am saving enough money for it.” |
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Chandigarh, Halwara teams in final AMBALA The college Principal, Dr Kiran Angra, said the team represented Ambala district in the Haryana state-level Ball Badminton Championship held at Rohtak.
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Notice to Hans for not paying dues Chandigarh, May 22 Giving details, Mr Arunjeev Singh Walia, advocate, stated in the notice that Hans had got his car serviced from his client, Mr Manjit Singh Bala. But Hans failed to make the payment despite the fact that repeated reminders were sent to him.
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Chandigarh, May 22