![]() |
SPORTS TRIBUNE |
Indian
might in Kiwiland Army winds
up 'Mission Olympics' ‘I get
along well with Mahesh’ |
|
|
Army
winds up 'Mission Olympics'
THE Indian Army's ambitious sports initiative launched three years ago to groom youngsters into potential Olympic medal winners has bitten the dust. The army's "Mission Olympics — Catch them young" initiative to hunt for gold, launched in 2005 after Lt. Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore's silver medal for shooting in the 2004 Olympics, is to close down following orders from the top. The orders given by the Indian Army have shattered the Olympic dreams of 23 sportspersons who have been training under the army's programme. "Orders were given for closing down the programme last month (March) as it failed to yield results," a senior army official told IANS. The army pumped in nearly Rs 5 crore (Rs 50 million) into the project and an Army Sports Institute was set up in Pune to nurture the Indian dream of making a mark in the international sports arena. The three-phased programme was targeted to see a steady flow of talent from 2010 onwards in four different sport disciplines. "Through the programme, the army aims to achieve respectable levels in the Asian and Commonwealth Games, then focus on doing well in the Olympic Games and finally create a steady flow of talent to win medals for the country at the Olympics," an official associated with the programme said. Under the mission, children in the age group 14-16 are trained to excel in shooting, archery, wrestling and equestrian events. Veteran sportsmen Milkha Singh, Sriram Singh and G.S. Randhawa were taken on board as consultants. The programme has produced very good results — every trainee qualified for the nationals. Abhilasha Joshi, of the shooting team, defeated international shooter Anjali Bhagwat and the team stood third in the 2008 January national shooting championships. Another extraordinary talent is Kulwinder Singh, who won the national junior championships in 2008 in the 24-metre rapid fire. It is reliably understood
that the programme was scuttled because of strained relations between
the current army chief General Deepak Kapoor and former chief General
J.J. Singh (retd), whose brainchild the project was. — IANS |
|
‘I get along well with Mahesh’ Sania Mirza speaks to A. Roy about how her maiden Grand Slam Mixed Doubles title with Mahesh Bhupathi has given a fresh lease to her career
You made a great comeback from injury by winning the Australian Open mixed doubles. Were you expecting such a comeback? I had worked hard for my comeback but the win at the Australian Open so early after I got back on the circuit was satisfying. You must be very encouraged the way you started this season. Yes, the start has been good and I hope I stay healthy the whole season. Couple of other tournaments are also coming up before the important French Open and Wimbledon. The most important thing for me at this stage is that I am feeling better than before and not thinking what I am going to achieve in future. How has been the experience of playing with Mahesh Bhupathi? Mahesh is one of the greatest doubles players in the world and it has been a great experience playing alongside him. We get along extremely well on and off the court. You trained with famous Gil Reyes (Andre Agassi’s coach) in Las Vegas. Can you elaborate on the training session you had there? Gil Reyes is a world-renowned trainer, who has worked with the likes of Andre Agassi. I had a short stint with him and would like to go back to him to benefit more. What can you dream more? It should help me improve my game. He, as we all know, is a fantastic trainer. I am just excited about it. Are you happy with the way your career has progressed? In a way, I am happy. But can’t be satisfied because as a sportsperson I have to keep on improving everyday. I am making steady progress and that certainly makes me happy. My dream of winning a Grand Slam came true with the Australian Open and I have to just keep on performing. How do you see the success of Yuki Bhambri and Somdev Devvarman? It’s great for Indian tennis. Somdev and I played juniors together and I feel proud that another batch mate has made a breakthrough at the international level. As for Yuki, I’ve seen him as a kid and it’s wonderful to see him do so well in the Juniors. Why is that in the women’s section we didn’t get the same success? Hopefully, we will see some girls emerging a few years down the line. Recently the government introduced new laws for representation of Indian players. It seems that the Fed Cup team has been the worst hit. What do you think about it? I’m sure the Government has its
reasons for making these laws. I personally take a lot of pride in playing for
my country and would continue to play if selected and of course, if fit. —
TWF |