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Dynamic young players like Lasith Malinga (left) and Tamim Iqbal outshone top stars of subcontinental teams during the World Cup. Photos by AFP, Reuters IN THE NEWS
MAIL
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Sansarpur, the village with 14 hockey Olympians to its credit, has fallen victim to the apathy of the sporting fraternity as well as successive governments, writes
Parwinder Blaggan
Sansarpur is well-known as the traditional nursery of Indian hockey, having produced no less than 14 Olympians. However, it is gasping for survival today. No wonder its decline has virtually mirrored the game’s slump in the country over the past two decades or so. A visit to the village, located near the Jalandhar cantonment, shows that the place which once produced great players, besides carving a niche for itself, has been reduced to a shambles. Uneven ground, absence of proper markings and tattered goal nets present a depressing picture. What is worse, hockey lovers of the village don’t even own the land used by budding players for practice and training. Had it been not for the Army authorities, who provided land for the purpose, the village wouldn’t even have existed on the map of Indian or international hockey. Gone are the days when former players from the village, be it national or international (including Olympians), used to come and give tips to budding players. “In our times, it was our parents and former players who motivated us to take up the game. Ex-players used to play with us whenever they visited the village,” said former Olympian Col Balbir Singh (Services), who was inspired by players like Balbir Junior, Udham Singh, Gurdev Singh and Gurjit Singh. Balbir admits that the absence of former national and international players in the village has been a major reason for the sad state of affairs. He says that the old tradition should have been continued to groom local talent. Apart from Balbir, Jagjit Singh and Udham Singh, none of the products of this village have preferred to stay back. Ironically, whenever a felicitation function or some other programme is organised, a number of former hockey players, including those from Sansarpur or Jalandhar, often “grace” the occasion. Solitary coach Thirty-odd students undergo training under a coach at the Karam Chand Thappar Academy being run by JCT. However, there is no coach to train newcomers who aren’t part of the academy. Only a handful of youngsters from nearby villages, such as Mithapur, Jamsher and Khusropur, turn up for practice under the informal guidance of a few senior players. The latter are not much experienced, having played only college-level or university-level tournaments. Things can improve once the 169 sanctioned posts of coach lying vacant in the Punjab Sports Department are filled. A few coaches might be appointed to train youngsters in Sansarpur. Lack of funds There is no regular source of funds for the Sansarpur Hockey Association. The major contributions come from NRIs who hail from the village or former players. Due to paucity of funds, it’s an arduous task to maintain the playground, which does not even have proper fencing. Stray animals have easy access to the ground, thereby causing damage to the surface. No Astro-turf Various state governments have promised much for Sansarpur over the decades, primarily the laying of a much-needed Astro-turf, but to no avail. The present Punjab Government led by Parkash Singh Badal has also made this promise. Whether (and when) it takes shape remains to be seen, but it goes without saying that hockey lovers need to do a lot more to revive this legendary nursery of our national sport. |
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Back to the future The cricket World Cup was a mixed bag for the subcontinent. While India and Pakistan fared disastrously, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh gave a good account of themselves. On the whole, it was an improved show compared to the fiasco at last year’s Champions Trophy in India, where none of the subcontinental teams had made it to the semifinals. The four nations — who are the co-hosts of the 2011 World Cup — have a lot of work to do if they intend to catch up with four-time champions Australia. Incidentally, a team from the subcontinent has succumbed to the Aussie firepower in three successive finals (Pakistan-1999, India-2003 and Sri Lanka-2007). A ray of hope was the individual brilliance of certain young players, who are likely to serve their teams for several years. For Bangladesh, Tamim Iqbal and Mohammad Ashraful played superb knocks against India and South Africa, respectively, while Lasith Malinga gave the Proteas a huge scare with four wickets in four balls. Among the veterans, Muttiah Muralitharan, Mahela Jayawardene and Sanath Jayasuriya justified their reputations with sporadic fireworks. On the other hand, Sachin Tendulkar and Inzamam-ul-Haq failed to rise to the occasion. Twenty-something Tamim, the youngest member of the team and playing just his fifth one-dayer, led the charge with an audacious 53-ball 51 against India. Although Bangladesh impressed one and all when they posted victories against two heavyweights — India and South Africa — their loss to Ireland and the big defeats against New Zealand and Australia showed their immaturity and lack of confidence. This young team can do wonders in the coming days if they try to be more consistent. Malinga bamboozled batsmen with his sling-arm action and charmed spectators with his stylish persona. he was one of the few players who infused life into a dreary tournament. No wonder he was named the sexiest of them all. Even Australians were wary of him in the summit clash and they just managed six runs in his first spell of four overs. His team-mates, Muralitharan and Jayawardene, too, gave extraordinary performances at times. Murali took 23 wickets and was only behind player-of-the-tournament Glenn McGrath (26); Jayawardene scored 548 runs and was also ranked second behind Matthew Hayden (659) among the top run-getters. However, they failed to repeat the heroics of 1996 when they humbled the Kangaroos to lift the trophy. For India and Pakistan, this tournament was a wake-up call. They have to reorient their strategies and do away with overemphasis on the coach’s role. After India’s debacle, most people flayed Greg Chappell’s “experiments” and bayed for his blood. Even now, the focus of the Indian cricket board is more on finding a new coach rather than the reorganisation of domestic cricket on the lines of Australia and deliberating upon the changes in the criteria of team selection. As Indian cricket is going through a difficult phase, a long-term plan is needed to stem the rot. This calls for fresh faces, flexible strategies and hefty incentives for the performers. There is a lot to be learnt from Sri Lanka, who have formed an impressive cricket structure despite the prolonged civil strife and political tension. |
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IN THE NEWS
Experienced
middle-order batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan has taken over the reins of the beleaguered West Indies team from batting genius Brian Lara, who retired at the end of the World Cup. It was a disappointing tournament for the hosts, who failed to reach the semis despite the familiar conditions and the crowd support. Guyana’s Sarwan, 26, is a veteran of 65 Tests and 124 one-day internationals. Lara dramatically retired from international cricket on April 21, a couple of weeks before his 38th birthday. Sarwan and the Trinidad and Tobago captain Daren Ganga were the leading candidates for the job, but the former’s greater experience did the trick. Sarwan made his Test debut against Pakistan in Barbados in May, 2000. He took over as Lara’s vice-captain in March, 2003, and scored his first Test century after 28 matches — 119 in December, 2002. He led the team in four one-dayers in 2004, winning three, and is currently the skipper of Guyana. Sarwan will lead the squad for the May 12 to July 7 tour of England, which includes four Tests, two Twenty20s and three ODIs.
— Agencies
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Indian golf took a major leap with two of its stars producing sublime golf almost 10,000 km apart in Beijing and Madrid last week. While Gaurav Ghei was carving the opposition with a steady round that gave him a two-shot win in the $500,000 Pine Valley Beijing Open on the Asian Tour, Jyoti Randhawa, who recently became a father, came within a whisker of becoming only the third Indian to win on the European Tour. Randhawa came back from a four-shot deficit in the two million euro Open de Espana and with three rounds of 65-66-67, finished sole second behind Charl Schwartzel of South Africa, who with a final round of 67 ended at 16-under and one shot ahead of Randhawa. It was Ghei’s third career win, all of them having come on the Asian tour, while Randhawa, one of India’s most solid players, was clocking his fifth top-10 finish on the 2007 European Tour season. He has previously won six titles on the Asian Tour and one on the Japan Tour. “I have come close to winning on European Tour quite a few times, hopefully it will happen soon,” said Randhawa, whose actress-model wife, Tina, recently gave birth to their first child, a boy. Interestingly, Ghei’s fortunes seemed to have changed after the birth of his son, Raghav, two years ago. In the period since, Ghei has won twice, once at Mercuries Masters in September last year and now at the Beijing Open. His only previous win had come back in 1995 in Gadgil Masters in New Delhi. Laughing when asked if his son had brought him luck, Ghei said “Maybe you can say that. Also a lot of people, including my sponsors, N Srinivasan, have stuck with me during the periods I was not playing well.” While Ghei won Mercuries Masters in 2006, Randhawa won the Hero Honda Indian Open on the Asian Tour last year. Speaking from Beijing, Ghei said “The recent performance of Jeev Milkha Singh at the Augusta Masters, where he made the cut , and this win will prove a big fillip for Indian golf.
— PTI |
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MAIL Kudos to Australia for winning their third World Cup title on the trot. The invincible Aussies reasserted their supremacy with a ruthless display, convincingly defeating one rival after another. Before the mega event, Australia had lost five matches in succession — two to England and three to New Zealand — and it was speculated that they would not be able to defend their title this time. However, they went from strength to strength as the tournament progressed. Incidentally, they triumphed even though one of their premier batsmen, Mike Hussey, came a cropper, while one of their top bowlers, Brett Lee, missed the World Cup due to injury. This shows the great depth of the Australian team, which does not rely on a player or two to deliver time and again. If they continue in this vein, the Twenty20 World Championship later this year could prove to be a cakewalk for them. Jaskirat Singh,
Ludhiana II The mighty Aussies did it again. They are the most consistent and powerful side in contemporary cricket. Some of their tactics, such as sledging, might not be likeable to cricket lovers, but there is no denying their superiority. Even the great West Indian team of the 1970s and 1980s failed to achieve a hat-trick of World Cup titles. Arvinder Singh,
Mohali |
