Indian Cricket League gets its first training ground

CHENNAI, August 30: The Indian Cricket League (ICL) is all set to begin the coaching of its players at a privately owned stadium in Chennai.

The ICL has signed up with the Pentamedia Group, an entertainment company, to use its stadium near Chennai.

“It’s pretty much a full fledged cricket set up. It’s a tough wicket. It’s pretty much what they would get at any good professional stadium in India,” said B. Udeep, Chief Executive Officer of Mayajaal Entertainment Limited and Mayajaal Sports Development.

The stadium spread over 18 acres, about 15 kilometres from Chennai and en route to Pondicherry, houses an entertainment complex, besides three turf wickets.

The players are set to begin training from Friday.

“The sessions are going to be in the morning, about 6 to 6.30 onward till evening about 4.00-5.00 with a break in the afternoon because sometimes Chennai tends to be hot between 2.00 to3.00 in the afternoon. But, otherwise it is fairly spread out,” said Udeep.

Giving a description about the training sessions, Udeep said: “In morning, they will have their jogging session. Then they will have little swimming thrown in and net practices. There will be a separate fielding practice.”

The ground, which is available on rent for corporates to stage their in-house matches, has been used once for an India-Australia women’s encounter in December 2004.

The league was launched in May by India’s Essel Group, which controls the country’s listed media firm Zee Telefilms, and plans to stage its inaugural tournament in October with a mix of foreign and domestic cricketers.

It has signed up over fifty players both from India and abroad, including former Indian skipper Kapil Dev, former West Indies captain Brian Lara, Indian batsman Dinesh Mongia, former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq, batting mainstay Mohammad Yousuf, all-rounder Abdul Razzaq and batsman Imran Farhat.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) official board has barred players, who have signed up with the ICL. The boards of Pakistan and Sri Lanka have also threatened to ban their players if they join it.

A brief history of time – Indian Hockey

There’s a connection between the ‘Inevitable Tragedy’ of Winston Churchill’s opening a third front in Gallipoli and Indian hockey.It was Field Marshal Birdwood, the British commander who organised the retreat of ANZAC (combined Australia-New Zealand armies) from Gallipoli, who proposed that an Indian Army hockey team visit New Zealand in 1926 as a friendship gesture. That was our first-ever foreign tour, and it was a smash hit. And New Zealand made a profit of £300 even after paying India £500.

The British knew that victory for a colony would boost the Empire’s image and did everything to realise this. Their officers were unbiased while projecting Indians as team leaders. It were the British who activated the Indian Hockey Federation’s (IHF) global affiliation in 1927 and instituted an Inter-Provincial Championship one year later. The efforts led to India participating as a team at the Amsterdam Olympics in 1928 and winning gold.

At the next edition (Los Angeles, 1932), global economic depression meant that India were the only entrants. The then IHF president, A.M. Hayman, managed to convince Japan and the hosts, and ensured that hockey survived at the games.

Funds were a problem in the lead-up to the Berlin Olympics in 1936. The first Indian to head the IHF, Jagdish Prasad, managed by collecting Rs 11,376 out of the required sum of Rs 45,000 from royal families, and India completed a hat-trick of Olympic golds.

Leadership problems

India was a free nation when the Olympics resumed after World War II (in 1948), but financial hardships continued. Naval Tata had to use his persuasive skills with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to send teams to the 1948 and 1952 Games. His successor Ashwini Kumar went a step further, mortgaging ancestral property to ensure the team participated in Melbourne.

For about three decades when these two luminaries ruled Indian hockey, no team returned without an Olympic medal. Ashwini in particular asserted his authority in the FIH and it counted on our on-field successes. But he had to go after finishing second and third respectively at the 1972 Olympics and the 1973 World Cup.

With the advent of synthetic turf, hockey changed forever. But the first synthetic surface came to India six years after it was introduced. And every time we failed, a scapegoat was found in the artificial surface. But the Montreal Olympics fiasco, where India finished seventh, was not due to synthetic turf — we lost out on a semi-final spot in the tie-breaker.

Neither can the surface be blamed for India’s later disasters. We have been just a point away from every Olympic semi-final since 1984, except in 1992 and 2004. The turf was not the reason we missed the 1984 Olympic semi-finals by a whisker, neither for our draw against Poland at Sydney. Equally, our 1998 Asiad and 2003 Asia Cup successes were no flukes.

Our failures on the international stage were primarily due to a lack of leadership. The change in playing surface or the rule changes did contribute somewhat, but the moot point is that our leadership could not ensure we moved with the times.

Not converting and paying the penalty

From the mid 70s to early 90s, India lost in most tournaments because of penalty-corners. Our forwards earned them by the dozens but we missed someone like Prithipal Singh to cash in on them. Our teams swam against the current and drowned. Europe produced an unending stream of PC specialists but we were clueless about grooming our own. Instead, the IHF kept changing coaches.

Pillay wishes for parallel IHF like ICL

Thursday, August 30, 2007
BHOPAL, India: Prompted by the formation of the Indian Cricket League (ICL) giving an alternate platform to budding cricketers, hockey veterans like former Indian captain Dhanraj Pillay also nurse a similar wish.

“There should be a parallel body in hockey like ICL to uplift the sport and restore its numero uno position and bring prosperity to the players,” he said.

“An alternate to the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) will be very beneficial for the young generation and it is my wish from the core of my heart to improve hockey by all available means and attract budding talents for a bright career,” he added.

Former mercurial centre-forward rued that notwithstanding hue and cry raised over the decline in hockey in recent years, it was a ground reality that no major sponsors had come forward to bring it back on the rails.

“At present, there is not a single player in the Indian hockey team who could manage a match single-handedly,” he explained.

Sports like football in India can manage to get sponsors like Kingfisher; and cricket like Essel group and ESPN, but it is an irony that hockey could not attract such sponsors, he said.

“Hockey really needs a body, which will respect, understand and think for the welfare of players and sport. At the end of the day, it shall benefit players also as in this sport, at present, devote their entire life, but get very meagre in return for survival of themselves and their family,” he added.

Hockey wizard’s son wants more CHAK DE! INDIAs

Not many will know that today is the birthday of the Bradman of hockey, Major Dhyan Chand. Such is the apathy towards the National game and its heroes!

The former Indian hockey wizard was born on August 29, 1905 in Allahabad and is often regarded as the greatest player ever to have played the game. He was a part of the Gold winning Indian team in three Olympic Games (1928 Amsterdam, 1932 Los Angeles, 1936 Berlin).

He was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian honour, in 1956. He got the title ‘Chand’ (moon) from his first coach, Pankaj Gupta, who had rightly predicted that he would one day shine like the moon. Major Dhyan Chand was affectionately called ‘Dadda’.

We decided to talk to his son, Olympian and part of the 1975 World Cup (Kuala Lampur) winning Indian hockey team, Ashok Kumar. Presently in Bhopal, Ashok expressed his happiness at the amount of awareness and popularity that Yash Raj’s CHAKDE! INDIA has generated for hockey.

He told us that public memory is very short and in about 4-5 months it will all be forgotten. He added that one CHAKDE! INDIA has made people know about the plight of one Mir Ranjan Negi (and hockey) and more movies like it will be needed to restore the neglected National game to its past glory. He implored the media to “keep the torch burning as pen is mightier than the sword!”

FOOTBALL MUST HEAL ITSELF – SOUTHGATE

Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate believes football as a whole must start to deal with its unacceptable side – namely the kind of verbal abuse which Egyptian striker Mido had to endure in the derby draw against Newcastle.

The Football Association have announced they will be investigating the incidents at the Riverside Stadium which led to Mido reacting to anti-Islamic chants from the Newcastle section of the crowd by raising his finger to his lips.

Mido was booked by Wirral referee Mike Dean, but Southgate insisted: “That kind of abuse is unacceptable.

“We all realise that chanting and goading is part of a footballer’s lot but things that go beyond that are unacceptable.

“Mido reacted and was punished but the people who were chanting got away with it. I have had a chat with him about it and he has been very mature.

“I can understand why he reacted in the way he did but it’s something he has witnessed before in his career.

“He knows that there was not necessarily anything malicious there but they were trying to wind him up.

“I don’t think this is something particular to Newcastle. It’s a football problem in general.

“Footballers have a duty to play in the right way and it’s up to other people to deal with the problems.”

Southgate has not yet revealed whether Mido will play in Wednesday night’s Carling Cup second-round tie against League One Northampton Town at the Riverside as the 24-year-old is carrying a slight ankle problem.

The manager is likely to want to field Tuncay Sanli and Dong-Gook Lee in his starting line-up as both are still awaiting their first goal for the Teessiders.

However, the Boro boss is mindful of what he believes was one of is biggest mistakes in his burgeoning managerial career when he deliberately weakened his side at the same stage of the Carling Cup last year.

The result was a 1-0 home defeat by League Two side Notts County which had an effect on squad morale.

Southgate, who was just a few weeks into the job at the time, said: “You learn from your defeats and I probably learned more from the Notts County defeat than any other match last season.

“There are certainly things I would have done differently. I have to put out a team that should win the game so I won’t be overdoing things and I won’t be handing out any debuts.

“We have players who have not been starting every week but who have played for the team already this season, and they need to be kept match fit. I want to keep the momentum going.

“We gained a lot of confidence from coming back twice against Newcastle on Sunday and we have to build on that and take advantage of the pace that we have now got in the side and the passion we feel.”

Boro won the Carling Cup in 2004 by beating Bolton at the Millennium Stadium and the Boro boss knows the competition means a lot to fans.

“It’s a competition we won not too long ago and it has a special place in our hearts because of that,” added Southgate.

“But we can’t take this game lightly. Northampton have nothing to lose. I am sure their priority is getting league results but they will come here to enjoy the occasion.

“We have to make sure that we keep the tempo going and that quality counts on the night.”

Changing times for Indian football

NEW DELHI, August 29: There were days when AIFF officials would call up journalists in general and sports journalists in particular and ensure whether they were coming that evening to watch the football match.

But on Wednesday it is a different ball game. The phones have not stopped ringing at the AIFF office. The officials’ mobiles have been flooded with requests for an entry to Wednesday’s final. But one thing is for sure, that even VIPs will have to stand and watch the final of the ONGC Nehru Cup that is being played between India and Syria at the Ambedkar stadium.

Times have changed as Indian football is all set to enter the big stage. India had a good run at the ONGC cup improving its performance match by match. Bhutia and his boys displayed class and style beating Kyrgyzstan in the semi-final. With Bob Houghton at the helm and Bhaichung’s boys raring to go, there will be a mad rush at the Ambedkar Stadium on Wednesday when India take on Syria in the final of the ONGC Nehru Cup.

“This is a very good thing for Indian football”, says Dr. Shaaji Prabhakaran an AIFF official and in-charge of the all India grassroots programme.

“I wish the stadium was bigger”, says Shaaji. He adds, “Ambedkar stadium can only accommodate 15000 seats and out of which 4000 have been given out as complimentary passes. But the hundreds and thousands of requests is only proof that Indian football is getting popular. This is a great morale booster for the team and the game in India.”

It is going to be tough even for those who would reach the stadium hours earlier to buy tickets.

India will go into the final with full of confidence. Syria knows that they have already beaten India in a previous match. But Houghton will have a different strategy on Wednesday. And the home crowd will be there to root for India.

But what is certain is that the organisers will have a tough time to keep the football fans at bay.